Pre-IPO investors have been selling their stakes in cosmetics and fashion retailer Nykaa as the company’s bonus shares go into Demat accounts. Today, 1.84 crore shares, or 0.65%, changed hands in a block deal. The stock opened lower at 9:20 am, down 2% at Rs 179.70 on the National Stock Exchange.

On November 21, it was reported that private equity firm Lighthouse India would sell a stake worth Rs 320 crore in Nykaa owner FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd in a block deal. Today’s stock buyers, however, are clueless.
The stock was quoted at around Rs 180-183.5 per share, a discount of nearly 2% to its last close.

Lighthouse India has been selling Nykaa shares recently. On November 10, the private equity firm sold 9.6 million shares at an average price of Rs 171.75 after the pre-IPO lock-in period expired. On November 16, it sold another three crore shares at an average price of Rs 175.13.

Other pre-IPO investors, such as TPG Growth, Narotam Sekhsaria and Mala Gaonkar, also reduced their stakes. Meanwhile, Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus, Morgan Stanley, Norges Bank and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have been buyers.

Nykaa posted a notably strong performance in the second quarter of the current financial year, with net profit jumping to Rs 5.19 crore from Rs 1.17 crore a year earlier.

Consolidated operating income for the September quarter was Rs 1,230.8 crore, up 39% from the same period last year.