Paul Davison, a SoftBank Executive, Departs From the FirstCry Board
SoftBank Vision Fund partner Paul Davison has stepped down from his position as a non-executive director of the board of Brainbees Solutions, the company that runs the omnichannel children's clothing line FirstCry. The Pune-based business said in a stock exchange filing on September 22 that the resignation was due to SoftBank's internal compliance commitments.
"Unfortunately, given that FirstCry is now a publicly traded company, SoftBank's internal compliance policies require that I resign and no longer hold the position of board director," Davison wrote in his letter of resignation. Since July 15, 2019, Davison has been a member of FirstCry's board.
SoftBank’s Internal Compliance
SoftBank's internal governance and compliance requirements usually cause it to leave board positions in firms once they go public. This method enables the company to control risks, concentrate on investment strategies, and have flexibility when it comes to exiting investments.
In the similar move, after the fintech company Paytm and the insurance marketplace Policybazaar were listed on Indian stock markets, Munish Varma, a former managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisors, resigned from the boards of both companies in 2022.
India is a Top Performing Market
In an interview with a well-known news source on October 22, Alex Clavel, co-chief executive of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said that India is one of the best markets for the firm's portfolio companies, as most of them are going public. In the June quarter of this year, SoftBank sold off its stake in Paytm, suffering a loss of almost $150 million, and finished its exit from PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar.
FirstCry’s Financial Report Card Prior Going to Public
On August 13, 2024, FirstCry debuted on the stock market, launching at a 34.4% premium over the INR 465 price of its initial public offering (IPO).
The company raised INR 1,885.8 crore in an anchor round prior to the IPO, and 4,055,428 equity shares were distributed to 71 anchor investors, including Norges Bank, Government of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Fidelity Funds, Nordea Asset Management, Max Life, Nomura Funds, SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, and Goldman Sachs.
Compared to the same period last year, when it recorded a consolidated net loss of INR 90 crore, FirstCry posted a loss of INR 57 crore for the quarter ending June 30. Compared to the equivalent quarter of the previous fiscal year, when revenue from operations was INR 1,407 crore, it increased by 17% to INR 1,652 crore.
Nitin Konde
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