Epiq Capital Invests In Lenskart, Mswipe, and Nestaway Technologies

Mumbai-based technology-focused investment firm Epiq Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in three Indian startups — Faridabad-based eyewear solutions company Lenskart, Mumbai-based mobile point-of-sale services provider Mswipe Technologies, and Bengaluru-based online home rental network Nestaway Technologies.

Epiq Capital was founded in 2016 by former Matrix Partners (India) co-founder Rishi Navani. The private equity firm specialises in growth and expansion stage investments in technology and consumer-driven product companies.

The recent development marks the closure of Epiq Capital’s first three investments.

Epiq Capital earlier announced the first close of its $200-250 Mn maiden tech startup fund in 2017. The firm had raised $100 Mn from global institutional investors for investing in tech startups.

Rishi Navani, managing partner, Epiq Capital, said, “The investments in Lenskart, Mswipe, and NestAway reflect our core strategy and philosophy. We are privileged to have partnered with exceptional entrepreneurs who have achieved a deep product value proposition with innovative business models.”

Epiq Capital has invested in Lenskart along with TR Capital and Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital. However, the firm hasn’t disclosed details related to its investments in Mswipe and Nestaway Technologies.

Inc42 earlier reported that Lenskart’s major stakeholders include IDG Ventures India (12%), TPG Growth (22%), PremjiInvest (12.4%), Unilazer Ventures (19%), and TR Capital (1.27%).

The investment firm has a strong focus on secondary deals and is planning to invest $10-$20 Mn in ventures that have already matured and are going to be cash-positive in the future.

Earlier, Nestaway had raised $51 Mn from Goldman Sachs, UC-RNT Fund, and the University of California to work on community housing and student housing in addition to its existing categories.

Mswipe Technologies closed its Series D funding round with an additional $10 Mn investment led by B Capital. The funds raised were used to support Mswipe’s plans to expand its acceptance network at retail merchants for the card and digital payments and strengthen its product development capability.

The Private Equity Sector In India

Earlier, Mumbai-based mid-market private equity firm SeaLink Capital Partners had announced the first close of its maiden fund at $315 Mn. The funds were raised from a clutch of family offices as well as business leaders to deploy anywhere between $15 Mn and $50 Mn in around eight to 12 companies over the next three to five years.

The Indian private equity sector has been witnessing a record-breaking deal-making pace. According to the sixth edition of Grant Thornton’s The Fourth Wheel 2018 report, 2017 recorded a 54% jump in values over 2016, despite a 24% decline in volumes. This indicates a significant jump in average deal sizes.

When it comes to trends in sector-wise PE investment, ecommerce witnessed the largest Y-o-Y jump over 2016, with $6 Bn worth of investments across 33 deals, compared to $1 Bn in 31 deals in the previous year.

According to the Inc42 Datalabs’ Indian Tech Startup Funding Report H1 2018, till June 22, $3 Bn was invested across 372 deals — a 47% decline in the total funding amount and a 17% drop in the number of deals as compared to H2 2017.

Inc42 Datalabs revealed that 46% of the total funding of $3 Bn in H1 2018 went to fintech and ecommerce alone.

[The development was reported by the ET]