Lenskart raises $200 million, co valued at about $5 billion

MUMBAI: Lenskart has raised $200 million from Temasek and Fidelity Management & Research in a secondary investment, the startup’s financial advisor Avendus Capital said in a statement on Monday.
Sources said that the transaction has valued the omni-channel eyewear retailer at about $5 billion. Lenskart was last valued at $4.5 billion. As part of the secondary deal, some of the firm’s early investors have sold a portion of their stakes to Temasek and Fidelity.In a secondary transaction, a company’s shares change hands among investors and no funds are added to the firm’s coffers. Avendus did not disclose the names of the selling shareholders.
With this investment, Fidelity has joined Lenskart’s cap table. Temasek is already an existing investor in the company with a 5.5% stake, data sourced from market research firm Tracxn showed. The latest transaction will not significantly add to Temasek’s shareholding, sources said. Following this transaction, Lenskart has raised close to $1 billion in capital over the last 18 months, making it one of the largest growth-stage financing globally, Avendus said. Lenskart did not respond to queries.
Last year, the startup had raised $600 million from investors in two tranches through a mix of primary and secondary transactions at a valuation of $4.5 billion. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) had pumped in $500 million into Lenskart in a financing which was largely secondary in nature and as part of which SoftBank had divested some of its shareholding in the company ($60 million worth of shares, sources said). Private equity firm ChrysCapital had infused the remaining $100 million in a mix of primary and secondary funding. Lenskart is among a batch of very few late-stage startups which has managed to attract investor interest amid still subdued deal activity in the late-stage segment. SoftBank remains the largest investor in Lenskart with a 16.5% stake. Lenskart has been expanding its presence in India while also rapidly scaling its footprint in Asia and the Middle East.