Lenskart raises $60 mn from IFC, Ratan Tata and others

Eyewear e-tailer Lenskart Solutions Pvt. Ltd said on Wednesday it has raised Rs 400 crore ($60 million) in its Series D round of investment from International Finance Corp, TPG Growth and other investors.

Adveq Management, IDG Ventures, Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan also invested in this round.

IFC, the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, has invested Rs 171 crore ($25.7 million). IFC had in February disclosed that it had committed to invest in Lenskart.

Pravan Malhotra, IFC's co-lead for global Internet investments and lead for VC deals in South and Southeast Asia, said the investment is part of the strategy of the firm's VC group to invest in innovative Internet, healthcare and technology companies across emerging markets.

This is the second deal for IFC in the Indian e-commerce sector. It is also investing $25 million in the firm that runs the back-end of grocery e-tailer BigBasket as part of a larger funding round.

Lenskart Solutions, formerly known as Valyoo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, runs the back-end wholesale supply business of Lenskart.com. It intends to use the new capital to strengthen its technology, supply chain, lens manufacturing capacity and expanding its reach to 400 cities.

"We will be able to draw on IFC's extensive global experience in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors, particularly in supply chain development and capacity building to realize its potential and develop best practices," said Lenskart founder and CEO Peyush Bansal.

Lenskart, which was started in 2008, is promoted by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Neha Bansal and Sumeet Kapahi. Its wholesale entity is engaged in the assembly, wholesale distribution and supply of affordable eyewear products, including the merchandise for Lenskart.com.

The company had raised $4 million in its first round of funding in 2011 from IDG Ventures. A year later, it brought in media veteran-turned-investor Ronnie Screwvala's Unilazer Ventures on board as it secured another $10 million. Last year, it raised Rs 135 crore ($21.9 million) in its Series C round of funding led by private equity firm TPG Capital, Hong Kong-based TR Capital and IDG Ventures.

In 2014, the company closed down three sister sites—Jewelskart.com, Bagskart.com and Watchkart.com—to focus on its main business.

Avendus Capital was the financial adviser to Lenskart for the latest transaction.