Indian eyewear brand Lenskart secures $275m from SoftBank

Indian eyewear company Lenskart said it is raising more than US$275 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.

Photo credit: moovstock / 123RF.

Founded in 2010, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer that manufactures and distributes eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses to 500 stores across 1,000 cities in India. It also operates an online portal where consumers can buy and even virtually try on products from its online store.

It plans to use the new funds to improve the capabilities of its technologies and strengthen its supply chain infrastructure, according to a statement.

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to the transaction.

It was earlier reported by Inc42, citing Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings, that SoftBank Vision Fund II Lightbulb will buy almost 23 million series G cumulative convertible preference shares in Lenskart at a nominal value of 2 rupees (US$0.028) and a premium of 713.95 rupees (US$10.03) for a total of US$231 million.

The investment pushed the Delhi-based startup’s valuation to around US$1.5 billion, according to a report from The Economic Times.

In September, Inc42 also reported that Lenskart had passed a resolution to raise about US$55.18 million from private equity firm Kedaara Capital in exchange for roughly 6.14 million series F shares. The deal was completed later in the same month.

With the funding, the startup looked to include an additional 150 offlines stores by March 2020 and 2,000 stores over the next five years. After establishing a presence in Singapore earlier this year, it also plans to enter overseas markets such as the Philippines, Taiwan, and the Middle East.

SoftBank has reportedly raised just US$2 billion for its Vision Fund 2 during its second close, a fraction of its targeted US$108 billion.

It was earlier reported that the Masayoshi Son-led firm was struggling to raise money for the fund, which aims to drive the growth of AI, following WeWork’s unsuccessful initial public offering attempt and the falling valuations of its other major investments.

Update (December 20, 7:00 pm): This article was updated to include details from an official statement from Lenskart.