Lenskart, an India-based online eyewear retailer backed by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank has secured $95m from investment firm KKR through a secondary transaction.
KKR invested in Lenskart through its Asian private equity fund, while existing backers TPG Growth and TR Capital divested a portion of their shareholding.
Founded in 2010, Lenskart sells a range of eyewear products including prescription glasses, contact lenses and sunglasses through an online platform and a network of physical stores located across India. The company claims to provide its services to more than 7 million people each year.
SoftBank supplied $231m of series G funding to Lenskart in December 2019 at a $1.5bn valuation. While several outlets reported the round total to be $231m, some listed the size of the round as $275m.
Lenskart had raised $55m from Kedaara Capital in September of that year, reportedly as part of a secondary deal in which PremjiInvest and Chiratae Ventures sold shares in the business.
Steadview Capital, Epiq Capital and TR Capital acquired shares in the company from TPG Growth, Unilazer Ventures and Chiratae Ventures through a secondary deal of undisclosed size in 2018.
Ronnie Screwvala, the founder of Unilazer Ventures, provided $3.5m of funding for Lenskart in 2018.
In 2016, PremjiInvest bought $30m of Lenskart shares from Chiratae Ventures, following a $60m series D round led by International Finance Corporation earlier that year.
Chiratae Ventures, TPG Growth and Adveq Management also participated in the series D round, as did private backers Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan.
The business had previously picked up $35m of funding from investors including Chiratae Ventures (then known as IDG Ventures India), Unilazer Ventures, TPG Growth and TR Capital between 2011 and 2015.