The company is expected to be valued at $5 billion, nearly double the $2.5 billion valuations at which the funds were raised.
Lenskart, an omnichannel eyewear retailer, has raised Rs 760 crore (or nearly $1 billion) in new funding round from Alpha Wave Ventures, according to regulatory filings accessed through a business intelligence platform, according to Tofler. According to the filings, this was a Series-I round with 36,41,646 series shares issued at Rs 2087.52 per share to raise Rs 760 crore.
According to sources familiar with the company’s fundraising plans, Lenskart is also looking to close the current round with a $200-250 million corpus ahead of its planned IPO, which could include some existing investors. “Yes, they will soon announce a larger Series-I fundraise round led by Alpha Wave Ventures,” a source said.
The company is expected to be valued at $5 billion, nearly double the $2.5 billion valuations at which the funds were raised.
Lenskart raised $315 million in funding last year, with investors including KKR, Temasek, and Alpha Wave Ventures participating. With a $231 million funding round led by SoftBank, the eyewear retailer joined the unicorn club in 2019.
In the meantime, when BT contacted Lenskart, a spokesperson declined to comment.
The unicorn led by Piyush Bansal has a slew of brands in its portfolio, including John Jacobs, Lenskart Blu, Vincent Chase, Hooper, Fossil, and Aqua lens. The company recently announced partnerships with leading online marketplaces such as Nykaa, Myntra, and Tata Cliq, as well as plans for an omnichannel presence via online channels and physical stores.
In a recent statement, Lenskart stated that its services are available through its website, mobile application, and 750+ stores in 252 cities across the country. According to an earlier official statement, the retailer’s next step will be to expand its online presence on international marketplaces such as Amazon and Noon in the UAE.
