Eyewear e-tailer Lenskart raises funds from PremjiInvest

Eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions Pvt. Ltd said on Tuesday it has raised funding from PremjiInvest, the private investment arm of Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji.

Lenskart CEO and founder Peyush Bansal said PremjiInvest is the only investor in this follow-on round of funding. He didn't disclose the amount raised.

The transaction comes barely four months after Lenskart secured Rs 400 crore ($60 million) in a Series D round. That round was led by World Bank arm International Finance Corporation and included investment from TPG Growth, IDG Ventures, Adveq Management, Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan.

Bansal did not comment on the terms of the latest transaction or the valuation at which the funds were raised. "This (round of funding) is just to bring Premji on board. It is not about the money or the valuation. PremjiInvest has deep expertise in building long-term, sustainable businesses," he told TechCircle by phone.

Bansal said that no investor has exited the firm and that the company is not looking for another big round of funding anytime soon. He added that the company will look at an initial public offering after three to four years.

Previously, 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 in a Series C round led by private equity firm TPG Capital, Hong Kong-based TR Capital and IDG Ventures.

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial adviser for the latest transaction.

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