Lenskart Subsidiary Styled Venture Neso Brands Raises $100 Mn

Lenskart Subsidiary Neso Brands News

Neso Brands, a subsidiary of the omnichannel brand Lenskart has raised more than $100 million during one of the biggest seed rounds of any company. Neso Brands' investors include KKR, Softbank, Alpha Wave Global and Temasek. 

The company based in Singapore said it would invest in eyewear brands that appeal to consumers and expand them through synergies with Lenskart Group.

In addition to the funding, Neso Brands has also announced the appointment of Bjorn Bergstrom as the company's new CEO. Before becoming Neso's CEO, Bergstrom served as chief growth officer and interim chief technology and product officer at Sweden-based fashion brand NA-KD.

"By investing in the most promising new brands in the [eyewear] industry and leveraging centralized resources across technology, manufacturing and distribution, Neso Brands will be uniquely positioned to scale the eyewear brands of the future," Bergstrom added. 

Lenskart creator Peyush Bansal has said, "It is our firm conviction that the brands of eyewear that we have today won't be the ones that will be in the near future. Neso is our plan to work with global founders to create brand names for the future of eyewear.

Lenskart had already raised $125 million over two tranches of its series I round back in April. Based on Fintrackr's estimates, the Peyush Bansal-led firm is worth $4.32 billion, and it is hoping to close the round at $5 billion.

A few days ago, ET revealed that Lenskart had registered the D2C company with Neso Brands and that it was seeking funding from the outside to fund the new subsidiary.

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Lenskart currently serves more than 10 million users and is present in 235 cities throughout India and Singapore. The company's revenue was the sum of 905.3 crores in FY21 as opposed to the figure of Rs 900 crore in FY20 as per the company's annual financial statements. In addition, the company achieved an increase in its annual profits by more than 4.6X to 28.92 crore from 6.32 million in FY20.

Neso Brands' $100 million round is the biggest seed round ever for an Indian-origin company. Established in 2022, Neso Brands is the latest addition to India's list of brands roll-up startups following the successes of two unicorns within the industry, Mensa Brands and GlobalBees. Neso Brands will only look for brands that sell eyewear and expand them to create a Thrasio-like venture.

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Delhivery IPO Open Up on 11th May Reduces Issue Size By 30%

Delhivery IPO News

The initial share sale of Delhivery is scheduled to begin on the 11th of May, according to the information that is available at the exchanges. The media reports suggest that the size of the issue is now at Rs 5,235 crore in the wake of market volatility and uncertain geo-political circumstances.

The company originally set out to raise Rs7,460 crore via an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO consists of fresh equity issues that can reach Rs.4,000 crore as well as an offer to sell shares totalling up to 1235 crores.

Under the OFS, the investors Carlyle Group and SoftBank as together with Delhivery's co-founders are expected to sell their stakes in the company that handles logistics.

In the draft documents, CA Swift Investments, an entity belonging to Carlyle Group, will sell shares worth the amount of Rs454 crore. SVF Doorbell (Cayman) Ltd which is an arm that is part of Softbank Group, will offload shares worth Rs365 crore. Deli CMF Pte Ltd, an entirely-owned subsidiary of the private capital funds China Momentum Fund, L.P. will auction shares worth 200 crores, and Times Internet will sell shares worth the sum of Rs165 crore.

Additionally, the co-founders of Delhivery the trio of Kapil Bharati Mohit Tandon and Suraj Saharanwill sell shares for Rs5 crore in cash, Rs40 million and Rs6 crore, respectively.

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The proceeds of the fresh issue will be used for the financing of organic growth initiatives, as well as funding growth through acquisitions, and other strategic initiatives as well as for general corporate objectives.

Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley India, Bofa Securities India along with Citigroup Global Markets are leading the IPO. The company that handles logistics for e-commerce has an all-India network and provides services to 17 045 post index number (PIN) codes up to June 30th, 2021.

It offers solutions for supply chain management to a wide range of 21,342 customers who are active including direct-to-consumer online retailers, e-commerce marketplaces and small and medium-sized enterprises across a variety of verticals, including FMCG and consumer durables consumer electronics and lifestyle, retail, manufacturing and automotive.

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