FirstCry, Unicommerce turn multibaggers for SoftBank, others after bumper stock market debut

E-commerce unicorn FirstCryand SaaS firm Unicommercehave turned multibaggers for their biggest investors including SoftBank following their blockbuster debut on India’s stock exchanges on Tuesday.

Brainbees Solutions Ltd, the parent company of FirstCry, made its stock market debut with a 40% premium on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and continued to rise, closing the day 3.5% higher. This surge has enabled SoftBank to more than quadruple its notional gains. 

SoftBank had acquired almost a 20% stake in FirstCry at an average price of Rs 154.40 apiece. On Tuesday, FirstCry's stock closed at Rs 673.50 per share. SoftBank’s stake in FirstCry is now worth over Rs 7,000 crore.

Unicommerce, backed by Snapdeal's parent company AceVector Group and SoftBank, made its stock market debut at nearly a 120% premium. Although the stock closed 10% lower at Rs 211.50 per share, it still delivered massive notional gains for its investors. 

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Snapdeal’s parent company has seen nearly a 10x increase, with a weighted average acquisition cost of Rs 23.52 per share, while SoftBank is enjoying a 6.61x notional gain, with a weighted average acquisition cost of Rs 30.87 per share.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which acquired FirstCry shares at weighted average of Rs 77.96 apiece, and holds a little under 10% stake in the company, saw the worth of its stake top Rs 3,400 crore, giving it returns of over 8x. 

Other prominent investors, including Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar; former chairman of one of India’s largest conglomerates, Ratan Tata; and  Manipal Groupfounder Ranjan Pai, who were facing a minor loss of about 10% at FirstCry's IPO price, saw their investments turn profitable thanks to the strong listing gains. 

FirstCry, provides a wide range of baby and children’s products, from clothing to essential items, had filed for a $500 million IPO earlier this year, seeking a valuation of $2.99 billion, lower than its private market valuation of close to $4 billion.

Following its listing, FirstCry’s valuation topped its private market valuation of $4 billion. The company had slashed its valuation, like Ola Electric, another new-age unicorn which went public last week, to make its IPO attractive to investors. 

FirstCry’s IPO consisted of a fresh issue of Rs 1,666 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 543 lakh equity shares by its existing shareholders.

Unicommerce, on the other hand, had filed its draft papers for a Rs 276 crore ($32 million) IPO, seeking a valuation of $130 million. Its IPO involved an offer for sale of 25.6 million shares, with only SoftBank and Snapdeal divesting their shares. Following its bumper listing, the company’s valuation soared to over $250 million.