Lenskart raises $200 Mn in secondary round

Eyewear retailer Lenskart has raised $200 million in secondary investment from Temasek and Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR). This investment marks Temasek doubling down on its existing investment in Lenskart, while Fidelity joins the cap table.

Following this transaction, Lenskart has attracted close to $1 billion in capital over the last 18 months, according to Avendus Capital which acted as an advisor of the transaction.

Lenskart is likely to have valued at over $5 billion in the secondary fundraise. The Peyush Bansal-led firm was last valued at $4.5 billion during $100 million funding in June last year. The company also raised the largest secondary funding in March last year.

Besides India, Lenskart has also deepened its penetration in international markets such as Southeast Asia & Middle East. The company claims to have more than 2,500 stores of which approximately 2,000 are in India.

In the past couple of years, Lenskart also invested in brands such as GeoIQ, Owndays and Le Petit Lunetier through Neso Brands and TangoEye. Singapore-based Neso is a subsidiary of Lenskart which raised $100 million in its seed funding in May 2022.

Lenskart’s revenue from operations soared to Rs 3,788 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,502 crore in FY22. The decent scale and controlled expenditure helped the company to reduce its losses by 37.3% to Rs 64 crore in FY23 from Rs 102 crore in FY22.

Lenskart primarily generated revenue from the sale of eyewear and its collections from India formed 59% of its total revenue. The remaining income was derived from international operations in countries such as Singapore, Dubai, the US, and Southeast Asia.

Recently, Bansal said that the company is looking to acquire land near Bengaluru airport to set up a mega factory.