Meet Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar, India’s richest self-made woman billionaire after blockbuster IPO

India’s online beauty, cosmetics and wellness e-commerce company Nykaa opened to a blockbuster valuation on Wednesday after it floated its initial public offering (IPO).

Nykaa’s shares surged 89 per cent on Wednesday to Rs 2,129 after it opened at Rs 2,018 in pre-trade. Last week the company had offered bids worth $32.55 billion as the market lapped it up and it was oversubscribed nearly 82 times.

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The new online product is targeted at the tech-savvy Indian women who are active on the net and mostly buy products online. The company also began selling clothes and household products in a bid to increase its portfolio for customers. India’s new internet giant was widely accepted by Indians with top-line celebrities endorsing the brand.

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The massive opening made Nykaa’s founder and chief executive Falguni Nayar, 58, India’s richest self-made woman billionaire. According to Bloomberg, Falguni Nayar’s net worth rose $6.5 billion.

Nykaa’s boss had left Kotak Investment Banking back in 2012. Nayar passed out from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

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Reports say Nayar is now the only woman to lead the country’s newest unicorn as her net worth zoomed. 

As the company’s shares shot up in the first five minutes of trade, Nayar said: “I hope the Nykaa journey – an Indian-born, Indian-owned and Indian-managed dream-come-true – can inspire each of you.”

Nayar along with her husband and twin children own half of the Nykaa shares even as the company has increased its sales by 35 per cent to $330 million this year, according to Bloomberg. Her son and daughter manage different units of the company.

(With inputs from Agencies)