Lenskart gets funding at $2.5 billion valuation
Lenskart has closed a $220-million funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings and Falcon Edge Capital, founder and chief executive officer Peyush Bansal told a private source.
The omnichannel eyewear retailer has now raised a total of $315 million in this round with private equity major KKR having invested $95 million through a secondary transaction recently.
Lenskart’s existing investors TPG Capital and World Bank’s International Finance Corp. (IFC) have sold parts of their holdings in the Ghaziabad-based startup in this latest capital infusion, which was split equally between primary infusion and secondary share sale. In a secondary share sale, the capital does not flow into the company coffers as new investors use the capital to buy stakes from existing investors, who exit partially or fully.
Launched in 2010, Lenskart is now valued at $2.5 billion, according to Bansal, who said the company will use a majority of the funding to expand into Southeast Asia and Middle East.
This will include both organic and inorganic expansion, the company also plans to expand further within India. The aim is to become the number one player in overseas markets through online and offline presence, Bansal said.
“Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital are very strategic to Lenskart in terms of what we want to do in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Temasek is a strong fund with very good knowledge of the Southeast Asia market and Falcon has high knowledge of the Middle East market,” he said, explaining the rationale behind bringing these investors on board.
SoftBank is the largest investor in the company with around 20% stake.
Chiratae Ventures, an early investor in Lenskart that sold stakes in previous funding rounds, has reinvested in the company along with Bay Capital. Chiratae Ventures had invested in Lenskart when it was valued at around $10 million.