Tata to open 100 Apple stores📱; ADIA to invest $400 Mn in Lenskart👓; Snapdeal drops IPO plan📊
Tata to open 100 Apple stores📱; ADIA to invest $400 Mn in Lenskart👓; Snapdeal drops IPO plan📊
Tata plans to open 100 small exclusive Apple stores, ADIA looks to invest $400 million in Lenskart, Snapdeal drops IPO plan, Funding Deals and more.
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Tata Group plans to open 100 small exclusive Apple stores📱
The Tata Group aims to open small, exclusive Apple stores nationwide. The iPhone maker is tying up with Tata-owned Infiniti Retail, which runs the Croma store chain for the venture.
Infiniti Retail will become an Apple franchisee partner and intends to open 100 such outlets of 500-600 sq ft each at malls as well as high-street and neighbourhood locations.
These Apple Authorised Reseller outlets will be smaller than Apple Premium Reseller stores, typically more than 1,000 sq ft.
The smaller stores will mainly sell iPhones, iPads, and watches while the larger format ones will have the entire Apple range, including MacBook computers.
ADIA looks to invest $400 million in Lenskart at $4.5 billion valuation👓
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is in advanced discussions with Lenskart and its existing stakeholders for an investment of $350-400 million, the largest fundraise by the omnichannel eyewear retailer.
Some of Lenskart’s investors are looking for a partial exit. The investment, once completed, will give ADIA nearly a 10% stake in Lenskart.
Lenskart expanded its international footprint last year in Singapore, the US and the Middle East, and acquired a majority stake in Japan’s Owndays in June, creating one of Asia’s biggest online retailers of eyewear.
The acquisition will widen its direct-to-consumer (D2C) footprint in Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.
Hot Shorts⚡
Edtech start-up Uolo has raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round led by UAE-headquartered venture capital fund Winter Capital.
Varaha raises $4 million in its early-stage seed funding round. The round was led by Orios Venture Partners, alongside participation from Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital, and other angel investors, including Kunal Shah.
Construction tech startup Onsite raised $1.5 million in a seed round from Artha Venture Fund, Foundamental, and Madhumala Ventures, among others.
Snapdeal drops IPO plan, withdraws DRHP📊
SoftBank-backed ecommerce firm Snapdeal has decided to pull the plug on its $152 million IPO, making it the latest casualty of the tech meltdown this year.
The company filed a request this week with the country's markets regulator to withdraw its IPO prospectus, Reuters reported.
Snapdeal said it has decided to withdraw its IPO prospectus "considering the prevailing market conditions" but did not elaborate. The company added that it may reconsider an IPO in the future depending on its need for capital and market conditions.
Snapdeal filed its IPO papers in December 2021, after a number of high-profile startups – including Zomato, Paytm and Nykaa – went public.
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