SUMMARY
Lenskart issued more than 50 Mn bonus shares to existing investors across August
The company has so far raised $129.6 Mn
The investment from Kedaara Capital is expected to help the company reach near billion-dollar valuation
Delhi-based eyewear startup Lenskart has passed a resolution to raise INR 392 Cr ($55.18 Mn) from private equity firm Kedaara Capital.
According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings accessed by Inc42, on August 28, the board of Lenskart Solution passed a resolution to offer and issue 6.14 Mn Series F Cumulative Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) at a nominal value of INR 2 and premium of INR 636.06 per share to Kedaara Capital.
The development came after reports surfaced earlier this month that Kedaara Capital was in talks to acquire a stake in Lenskart via a secondary deal from PremjiInvest and Chiratae Ventures. This deal was expected to value the company at $1 Bn and take it to the unicorn club.
In a secondary deal last year, Lenskart reached a valuation of $495.5 Mn (INR 3,400 Cr) in the deal led by TR Capital and Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital.
The filings further showed that Lenskart had issued more than 50 Mn bonus shares to existing investors across August. The company converted more than half of CCPS Class 1 share into equity shares with a conversion ratio of 10:1. TR Capital, Adveq Asia, IFC, PI Opportunity Fund, Steadview Capital, ABG Capital and LTR Focus Fund will now have stakes via equity.
Further, it is also converting the Series D CCPS, held by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), into equity shares at a 1:1 conversion ratio. The company has so far raised $129.6 Mn from investors such as TR Capital and Zurich-based asset management company Adveq among others.
Here’s What Is Happening At Lenskart
Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is into manufacturing, assembling, distributing, and supplying of products such as eyeglasses, powered sunglasses, and contact lenses.
Lenskart has been expanding its product portfolio aggressively through various investments and tie-ups. In April, it launched a new app called Lookr, which uses face mapping, facial analysis, design predictions and frame recommendations to help customers chose their product.
Lenskart has also invested $500K in a US-based startup ThinOptics, which makes innovative reading glasses that can be attached to a user’s phone or keychain, so the user doesn’t misplace them.
Further, it partnered with California-based Ditto to launch 3D Try-On, a feature that enabled people to try on frames virtually. In 2017, it had acquired a minority stake in Israel-based tech startup 6over6, which allows consumers to determine the power of their lenses fitted in their eyeglasses through a smartphone application.
The company controlled its losses by 55% reaching INR 118.04 Cr in FY18 from Rs 262.87 crore in FY17. In terms of revenue, the company grew 70% reaching INR 310.98 Cr from INR 182.02 Cr in FY17.
Being an omnichannel retailer, Lenskart has over 460 stores across India and is aiming to open 150 more stores by March 2020, and another 2K stores over the next five years.
