Latest news with #FSN
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Banga family divests 2.1% stake in Nykaa's parent firm for ₹1,213 crore
Harindarpal Singh Banga and his wife Indra Banga on Thursday divested a 2.1 per cent stake in FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the parent company of fashion and beauty retailer Nykaa, through bulk deals worth ₹1,213 crore. Following the stake sale, shares of Nykaa declined by 4 per cent to ₹203.50 apiece on the BSE, and by 3.82 per cent to ₹203.50 per piece on the NSE. Harindarpal Singh is a commodities billionaire and Chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-based Caravel Group. Banga was an early investor in Nykaa, which went public in 2021. As per the deal, up to 6 crore equity shares of FSN were sold at a final price of ₹202.25 per share. This represents a discount of about 4.4 per cent to FSN's closing price of ₹211.59 on NSE on Wednesday, as per the term sheet accessed by PTI. Goldman Sachs (India) Securities and J P Morgan India were the brokers for the deal. The transaction comprises a sale of approximately 6 crore shares amounting to around 2.1 per cent stake in FSN. At the final price, the total deal size is estimated at ₹1,213.5 crore ($141.9 million), which is executed in one or more bulk deals on the BSE and NSE. The offer is entirely secondary in nature. After the latest transaction, Harindarpal's holding in Nykaa has come down to 2.87 per cent from 4.97 per cent. Last month, FSN said it has set a break-even target of FY26 for its cash-burning fashion arm on account of marketing efficiencies, overhead leverage, and own-brand growth. Nykaa is also making a foray into the quick-commerce arena with "Nykaa Now", which offers delivery time of 30 to 120 minutes across seven major cities. The service is backed by a network of beauty warehouses, physical retail stores and rapid stores across the country. The fashion vertical, which generated about ₹3,800 crore in GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), is currently a drag on consolidated profitability, posting a Ebitda margin of (-) 8.3 per cent for FY25. In May, Nykaa reported over threefold increase in consolidated net profit to ₹20.28 crore for the March quarter. The fashion and beauty retailer had logged a profit (attributable to equity shareholders of the parent) of ₹6.93 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing. Revenue from operations was 23.6 per cent higher at ₹2,061.76 crore during the quarter, against ₹1,667.98 crore a year earlier. However, seen sequentially, profit and revenue fell 22.3 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively. In 2024-25, profit more than doubled to ₹66.08 crore, from ₹32.26 crore in the previous fiscal year. Revenue from operations stood at ₹7,949.82 crore, 24.4 per cent higher than ₹6,385.62 crore in FY24. In FY25, Nykaa saw its cumulative customer base grow 28 per cent year-on-year to over 42 million. In August last year, Harindarpal Singh Banga divested over 4 crore shares, or 1.43 per cent stake, in Nykaa for ₹851.50 crore.
Jordan Times
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Tunisia opponents to be tried on state security charges amid crackdown
Dalila Ben Mbarek, lawyer and member of the defence committee of detainees accused of involvement in a conspiracy case against state security, addresses a press conference in Tunis, on Thursday (AFP photo) TUNIS — A highly anticipated trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of plotting against state security is set to start Tuesday, with critics and rights groups denouncing it as unfair and politically motivated. The case has named around 40 high-profile defendants -- including former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures -- some of whom have been outspoken critics of President Kais Saied. Many were detained following a flurry of arrests in February 2023, after Saied dubbed them "terrorists". The group faces charges of "plotting against the state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group", according to lawyers, which could entail hefty sentences. They include politician Jawhar Ben Mbarek, a former senior figure in the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, a founder of the opposition National Salvation Front (FSN) coalition -- all staunch critics of Saied. Saied was elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy following the Arab Spring. But in 2021, he staged a sweeping power grab, and human rights groups have since warned of a rollback on freedoms. 'Judicial madness' The long-awaited case has also charged activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and Bochra Belhaj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France. French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy was also named among the accused, as a number of them are suspected of getting in contact with foreign parties and diplomats. Addressing the public in a letter from his cell, Ben Mbarek said the case aimed at "the methodical elimination of critical voices" and he denounced "judicial harassment". Ben Mbarek was one of the founders of the FSN, which remains the main opposition coalition to Saied. His sister Dalila Msaddek, a lawyer who is part of the defence committee, told AFP the charges were "based on false testimony". The defence committee has said that judicial authorities decided to hold the trial remotely, without the presence of the detained defendants. Their relatives and rights groups said the move was not fair, calling for all the defendants to stand before the judge. "It's one of the conditions for a fair trial," said Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the FSN and himself named in the case. Riadh Chaibi, a former Ennahdha official, said the case had "no reasoning". "This is a case where the witnesses are secret, the evidence is secret and they want the trial to be secret too," he told reporters in the capital Tunis. Also a member of Ennahdha, lawyer Samir Dilou called it "judicial madness". 'Arbitrary detentions' Ben Mbarek's father, leftist activist Ezzeddine Hazgui, told AFP he felt "bitter" about voting for Saied in 2019. His son, too, "had fought like a devil" to get Saied elected, according to Msaddek. She said while several people prosecuted in the case are in custody, some remain free pending trial and others have fled abroad. Other critics of Saied have been detained and charged in different cases, including under a law combatting "false news". In early February, Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi, 83, was sentenced to 22 years in prison -- also for plotting against state security, though in a separate case. The United Nations urged Tunisian authorities last month to bring "an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians". Tunisia's Foreign Ministry expressed "astonishment" over the UN's "inaccuracies and criticisms". It insisted the cases cited by the UN involved "public law crimes unrelated to political, party or media activities, or the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression". "Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements," it added.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tunisia opponents to be tried on state security charges amid crackdown
A highly anticipated trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of plotting against state security is set to start Tuesday, with critics and rights groups denouncing it as unfair and politically motivated. The case has named around 40 high-profile defendants -- including former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures -- some of whom have been outspoken critics of President Kais Saied. Many were detained following a flurry of arrests in February 2023, after Saied dubbed them "terrorists". The group faces charges of "plotting against the state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group", according to lawyers, which could entail hefty sentences. They include politician Jawhar Ben Mbarek, a former senior figure in the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, a founder of the opposition National Salvation Front (FSN) coalition -- all staunch critics of Saied. Saied was elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy following the Arab Spring. But in 2021, he staged a sweeping power grab, and human rights groups have since warned of a rollback on freedoms. - 'Judicial madness' - The long-awaited case has also charged activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and Bochra Belhaj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France. French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy was also named among the accused, as a number of them are suspected of getting in contact with foreign parties and diplomats. Addressing the public in a letter from his cell, Ben Mbarek said the case aimed at "the methodical elimination of critical voices" and he denounced "judicial harassment". Ben Mbarek was one of the founders of the FSN, which remains the main opposition coalition to Saied. His sister Dalila Msaddek, a lawyer who is part of the defence committee, told AFP the charges were "based on false testimony". The defence committee has said that judicial authorities decided to hold the trial remotely, without the presence of the detained defendants. Their relatives and rights groups said the move was not fair, calling for all the defendants to stand before the judge. "It's one of the conditions for a fair trial," said Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the FSN and himself named in the case. Riadh Chaibi, a former Ennahdha official, said the case had "no reasoning". "This is a case where the witnesses are secret, the evidence is secret and they want the trial to be secret too," he told reporters in the capital Tunis. Also a member of Ennahdha, lawyer Samir Dilou called it "judicial madness". - 'Arbitrary detentions' - Ben Mbarek's father, leftist activist Ezzeddine Hazgui, told AFP he felt "bitter" about voting for Saied in 2019. His son, too, "had fought like a devil" to get Saied elected, according to Msaddek. She said while several people prosecuted in the case are in custody, some remain free pending trial and others have fled abroad. Other critics of Saied have been detained and charged in different cases, including under a law combatting "false news". In early February, Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi, 83, was sentenced to 22 years in prison -- also for plotting against state security, though in a separate case. The United Nations urged Tunisian authorities last month to bring "an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians". Tunisia's Foreign Ministry expressed "astonishment" over the UN's "inaccuracies and criticisms". It insisted the cases cited by the UN involved "public law crimes unrelated to political, party or media activities, or the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression". "Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements," it added. kl-bou-iba/ysm/sco
