Lenskart set to turn unicorn
What's the news?
Kedaara Capital is in talks to buy shares in omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart through a secondary deal, valuing the company at $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said. Existing investors PremjiInvest and Chiratae Ventures are among those likely to partially liquidate their holdings, sources close to the deal told ET
Why is this significant?
This will be the first investment by homegrown private equity company Kedaara in the consumer internet sector, and comes at a time when some big private equity companies have sensed opportunities in the space.
For Lenskart, this will mark a significant jump from its previous valuation of $460-470 million, and it will be latest to join the Unicorn club of privately held firms valued at $1 billion or more.
E-commerce cos face repackaging challenge
What's the news?
Ecommerce companies such as Flipkart, Amazon, and Bigbasket will have to find alternatives to single-use plastic, as the government is likely to restrict its use for packaging from October 2.
The government is also thinking of ways to make e-commerce companies recycle the waste that they generate. This will, in turn, push these companies to come up with alternative packaging materials quickly.
What are the companies doing?
Last week, Walmart-owned Flipkart said it had already reduced the use of single-use plastic by 25% and has set a target of using 100% recycled plastic by March 2021. The homegrown etailer has also filed for an extended producer responsibility (EPR), aiming to collect back 30% of the waste it generates in the first year.
Several other e-commerce companies, including Amazon and Bigbasket, are also trying to reduce the use of single-use plastic. Bigbasket has stopped using them to package products in Bengaluru, which has banned the use of such plastics altogether.
Swiggy's commission cap
What's the news?
Swiggy may cap the commissions it charges restaurants at 25%, two people with knowledge of the company’s plans said, in a potential sign of a thaw in an ongoing impasse between food delivery companies and a restaurant owners’ body.
Why does this matter?
The move comes right after Swiggy met with the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) last week to resolve the impasse. Swiggy's decision is expected to benefit small business owners, who do not have the leverage to close better deals due to the inability to process larger volume of orders.
However, this will mean a temporary loss of revenue for the Bengaluru-based food delivery company, as several restaurants who have signed deals with the company earlier give commissions of nearly 30% of the order value.
M&M takes control of Meru
What's the news?
Mahindra & Mahindra is picking up 55% stake in radio taxi service Meru Cabs for a cash consideration of Rs 201 crore, deepening its reach in the growing shared mobility space. Meru will become a subsidiary of Mahindra, and so will its subsidiaries Meru Mobility Tech, V-Link Automotive Services and V-Link Fleet Solutions
What are Mahindra's other mobility bets?
The carmaker had last year picked up a 16% stake in self-drive car rental firm Zoomcar for Rs 176 crore, besides investing in electric vehicle ride-sharing platform Glyd, and tractor and farm equipment rental service Trringo. On-demand logistics player Porter had also merged with Mahindra group incubated logistics aggregator platform SmartShift last year and Mahindra had invested $10 million in the merged entity.
Naspers may back ElasticRun
What's the news?
Logistics and distribution startup ElasticRun is in talks to raise $50-55 million, led by South African internet and media group Naspers, valuing the company at $250 million, multiple people aware of the matter told ET.
Why is this important?
ElasticRun aggregates spare logistics infrastructure capacity from businesses like kirana stores, local couriers, and small and medium businesses to fulfill customer orders. Since it does not own warehouses or delivery centres, the cost structure is variable and on a “per delivery” basis, unlike traditional logistics players.
This significantly reduces the capital required to build a national-level network, eliminates capacity wastage in lean periods and loss of business during a spike in demand.
Naspers believes that this model is the most capital-efficient way to build a scalable technology logistics network in India, a person directly aware of the deal told ET.