FirstCry first among SoftBank's portfolio companies to go public: Report

Omnichannel retailer FirstCry will be the first to file for an IPO among SoftBank's portfolio of Indian unicorns that are yet to go public.

SoftBank Vision Fund's Managing Partner and CFO Navneet Govil told The Economic Times that FirstCry plans to file its draft papers before the end of this year.

Its other portfolio companies such as Swiggy, Lenskart, and Ofbusiness are also gearing up for IPOs, Govil said. Cumulatively, SoftBank's portfolio companies are worth about $42 billion.

YourStory was unable to independently verify these reports.

SoftBank's investment arm—Vision Fund—marked a significant achievement by reporting a profit of $1.1 billion (on a standalone basis) after six consecutive quarters, on the back of rising valuations of its publicly traded portfolio companies. Meanwhile, SoftBank Group sustained a net loss of $3.3 billion for the first quarter of FY24, marking its third consecutive quarterly loss. The outcome reflects the ongoing challenges faced by tech startups in yet another demanding year.

Govil also told ET that the companies that are not going to do well have been identified and written down "quite significantly" and that the bar for investments will be high. Going forward, it will eye investments in artificial intelligence-focused companies that have high growth across India, Europe, Latin America, and the US.

On Wednesday, WeWork said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that there is "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to continue doing business. This is after it received a rescue package from SoftBank Group, which gave the investment firm control of the company.