SoftBank executive Paul Davison leaves FirstCry board

Paul Davison, partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, has resigned as a non-executive director of the board of Brainbees Solutions, which operates the omnichannel kidswear brand FirstCry.

The resignation is a result of SoftBank’s internal compliance requirements, the Pune-based company stated in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.

In his resignation letter, Davison noted, “Regrettably, SoftBank’s internal compliance policies require that I resign and no longer hold the position of board director given FirstCry is now a public company.”


Davison has served on FirstCry's board since July 15, 2019.

SoftBank typically exits board positions in companies after they go public due to internal governance and compliance policies. This approach allows the firm to focus on investment strategies, manage risks, and maintain flexibility for exiting investments.

In 2022, Munish Varma, the former managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisors, stepped down from the boards of fintech firm Paytm and insurance marketplace Policybazaar following their listings on Indian stock exchanges.

In an interview with ET on October 22, Alex Clavel, co-chief executive of SoftBank Investment Advisers, rated India among its top-performing markets, citing a spree of public listings by its portfolio firms.

Earlier this year, SoftBank completed its exit from PB Fintech, the parent firm of Policybazaar, and divested from Paytm in the June quarter, incurring a loss of approximately $150 million.

FirstCry made its stock market debut on August 13, opening at a premium of 34.4% over its initial public offering (IPO) price of Rs 465.

Prior to the IPO, the company raised Rs 1,885.8 crore through an anchor round, allocating 4,055,428 equity shares to 71 anchor investors, including SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Government of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Goldman Sachs, SBI Life, Fidelity Funds, Nordea Asset Management, Max Life, Nomura Funds, and Norges Bank.

For the quarter ending June 30, FirstCry reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 57 crore, down from a loss of Rs 90 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,652 crore, reflecting a 17% increase from Rs 1,407 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

On Tuesday, the shares of FirstCry closed at Rs 633.25 on the BSE.