Nykaa is planning to go public later this fiscal at a valuation of $4.5 billion, as the beauty retailing startup gains value from a marked shift towards online sales during the covid pandemic. Nykaa, founded by former investment banker Falguni Nayar, will keep unchanged in the public offering at between $500 million and $700 million, said two people directly aware of the internal discussions.

They said the rise in Nykaa’s overall valuation is led by a rush in revenue and profit for the e-commerce platform, mainly because of covid-related disruptions, which have pushed more consumers to purchase online.

“The roadshows are on for the initial public offer (IPO), and FSN Ecommerce Ventures Pvt. Ltd, the holding company of Nykaa, will file its draft red herring prospectus by this June-end or early July, and the IPO will take off in the March quarter of this fiscal,” said one of the two people cited above said. “The public offer will be coupled with an offer for sale to provide an exit to existing investors. The price band is yet to be decided, but a 10-20 per cent stake of the company could be offered to the public for an adequate free-float” they added.