Surprise corporate actions by Indian tech darlings spur investor scrutiny

Nykaa and Paytm are among a flurry of hot startups that came to the Indian market with much fanfare

The relentless rout in shares of India’s tech darlings since their much-hyped initial public offerings last year has driven some of them to use surprise tactics to arrest the slide, drawing scrutiny from investors and market experts.
 

First it was FSN E-Commerce Ventures Pvt., the owner of beauty e-retailer Nykaa, which announced a bonus share issue to coincide with the expiry of an IPO lockup on key investors in November that risked extending the stock’s slump. Then this month, the loss-making parent of payments firm Paytm somewhat baffled investors with a decision to buy back shares a little over a