Lenskart buys Owndays👓, LazyPay updates terms📜, Zetwerk acquires 3 companies🦄
Lenskart is now Asia’s largest omni-channel eyewear retailer, LazyPay updates terms to comply with RBI, Zetwerk acquires 3 companies for Rs 100 Cr, Funding Deals and more.
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SoftBank-backed Lenskart buys Japan’s Owndays in $400 million deal👓
Lenskart, the Softbank-backed omni-channel eye-wear retailer, has picked up a majority stake in Owndays – a Japanese direct-to-consumer eyewear brand – the company said. The strategic partnership through this merger will build Asia’s largest omni-channel eyewear retailer, Lenskart added.
The deal is estimated to value Owndays at around $400 million. The company declined to disclose the deal size.
The majority shareholders of Owndays – L Catterton Asia and Mitsui & Co., Principal Investments – will sell their stakes to Lenskart as part of the deal.
Owndays cofounders Shuji Tanaka and Take Umiyam will continue as shareholders and lead the management team of Owndays after the deal. It will continue to operate as a separate brand.
LazyPay updates terms to comply with RBI order📜
LazyPay, the lending arm of PayU India, has updated its terms and conditions to comply with a recent directive by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that barred prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) from being loaded with credit lines.
The buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service asked customers in a message on Thursday to accept the terms, failing which all transactions would be blocked across LazyPay products.
“To comply with the latest regulations, we need to block your transactions on all LazyPay products from today. To continue using LazyPay, please accept the updated T&Cs now,” the company said in a communication to customers.
Earlier this week, Slice updated its terms and conditions, saying it would charge customers a 36% interest rate for loan repayments made in more than one instalment.
Hot Shorts⚡
GetVantage, a revenue-based lending platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has raised $36 million in a growth funding round led by Varanium Nexgen Fintech Fund and DMI Sparkle Fund.
AquaExchnage, a fintech platform catering to India’s shrimp and fish ecosystem, raised $3 million from Endiya Partners, Accion Venture Lab and a few others.
Gardening-focused hyperlocal marketplace Urvann has raised Rs 3 crore in a seed round of funding led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).
➡️ Check out our LinkedIn space for more on the funding deals.
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B2B unicorn Zetwerk acquires 3 companies for Rs 100 crore🦄
B2B marketplace unicorn Zetwerk has acquired a majority stake in three companies for a cumulative sum of Rs 100 crore. The firm has acquired a majority stake in Pinaka Aerospace Solution, in a cash plus equity deal.
Zetwerk would benefit from Pinaka's client portfolio, which includes government research facilities like DRDO and ISRO and enterprise clients like Carlisle, Tata, and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, , among others, it said in a statement.
The unicorn has also acquired a majority stake in SharpTanks, an engineering and construction company operating in the oil and gas sector. The acquisition makes them one of the seven companies in the space, the firm said.
Zetwerk also purchased the Wardha fabrication unit of Wheels India, in a bid to gain market share in the $1.5-billion market for the manufacture of critical fabricated parts used in power, roads and railway projects.
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