India Roundup: Nykaa to launch IPO on Oct 28, and more

Beauty startup Nykaa gears up for IPO launch

• Nykaa will reportedly launch its three-day initial public offering (IPO) on October 28 as the company looks to raise up to 52 billion rupees (US$695 million). The company is supposedly expecting a valuation of US$7.4 billion in its IPO.
• Investors who may sell stakes in the beauty products firm include Light House India Fund, JM Financial, Yogesh Agencies, and TPG Capital, among others. Following the launch of the public offer, Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar and her family will continue to hold a majority stake in the firm.
• Nykaa, which recently got a nod from the Indian market regulator for its public listing, turned profitable for the first time ever in the financial year ended March 2021 with a net profit of US$8 million.

Google to invest in Facebook-backed Meesho

• Meesho is reportedly in talks with Google to raise more than US$50 million.
• Last month, the social commerce firm raised US$570 million in a series F funding round, which saw its valuation climb to US$4.9 billion.
• Meesho, which clocked a 2.5x growth in order volume over the last five months as of September 2021, aims to hit 100 million monthly active users by December 2022.

Paytm to scrap pre-IPO share sale to advance public listing

• Paytm is looking to speed up its public listing by scrapping the pre-IPO share sale.
• The report comes a day after Paytm reportedly eliminated the pre-IPO share sale process due to differences over the valuation of the company.
• The fintech unicorn is looking at a valuation of nearly US$20 billion, up from US$16 billion previously. However, some investors have suggested lowering the price.

Nykaa buys Indian skincare brand Dot & Key

• Nykaa has acquired the Indian skincare brand Dot & Key for an undisclosed sum.
• Dot & Key focuses on skincare solutions including serums, face masks, toners, and cleansers. It recently expanded into the nutraceuticals space under the “IKWI” brand.
• The deal marks Nykaa’s first acquisition of a direct-to-consumer (D2C) beauty brand. Dot & Key products will be part of Nykaa’s portfolio of owned brands following the investment.

Cloud kitchen firm Curefoods buys seven food brands

• The cloud kitchen firm, which operates brands EatFit, Yumlane, Aligarh House Biryani, CakeZone, and Masalabox, has acquired seven D2C food brands across India so far.
• Curefoods said it is looking to onboard 25 brands to expand its cloud kitchen footprint. The company added it has already signed 15 more letters of intents.
• Apart from acquiring new brands, the one-year-old cloud kitchen firm has bagged exclusive online franchise rights for Yumlane, Aligarh House, and Sharief Bhai.

Vehicle interface firm Numadic raises US$2.5 million in fresh funds

• 9Unicorns and Venture Catalysts led the pre-series A funding round that valued the firm at US$20 million.
• Investors including Chona Family Office as well as senior executives from Oracle and Google also took part in the financing round. Numadic will use the new capital to hire employees and improve its tech.
• Founded in 2016, Numadic is a vehicle interface platform that builds apps and application programming interfaces to enable autonomous vehicle payments.

Ex-Amazon exec’s arts academy raises US$1.3 million

• Global Founders Capital led the funding round, which saw participation from Enzia Ventures and Better Capital, as well as several angel investors like Cred founder Kunal Shah and Cars24 founder Vikram Chopra, among others.
• Launched in April by former Amazon India director Shariq Plasticwala, Kafqa Academy offers online classes with a structured performance-oriented curriculum that offers revision tools, practice, and digital performances.
• The company aims to create a community of 50 million active users.