SoftBank advances funding talks with Lenskart

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Aug 26, 2019

SoftBank’s vision fund has advanced its talks with Lenskart as its proposed investment looks set to take the eyewear business’ valuation close to $1.5 billion (Rs 9,979 crore) and fuel its planned global expansion.

Delhi-based Lenskart is close to securing a new round of investment that would greatly increase its valuation and allow it to expand globally. SoftBank, which is expected to invest around $400 million in Lenskart with its vision fund, also plans to invest around $150 million in the content platform Dailyhunt, sources told TNN.

“SoftBank is increasingly backing winners and is not just going after hyper-growth but also companies with good unit economics,” a source told TNN about SoftBank’s investment plans. The business, led by Masayoshi Son, may also team up with a co-investor for the funding round.

The Lenskart funding round is also expected to include a secondary share sale by some of the business’ existing investors totalling around $100 million. Lenskart has previously raised around $150 million from secondary share sales. 

Lenskart opened its 500th store in India back in May in Bengaluru. The business aims to reach a total of 650 brick-and-mortar stores in India by March 2020.