Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart for about $500 million.

The investment firm is concluding an agreement to buy a mix of existing shares and new equity in Lenskart, said a report by Bloomberg. The announcement is likely to come out as early as this week.

This investment will raise Lenskart’s valuation to more than $4 billion; the deal details could still change as the discussions are in advanced stages, said the report. The Professional Times could not independently verify this report.

The current funding information comes amid bleak investment activities, continued layoffs across sectors, and declining valuations of many startups. Earlier, the eyewear retailer was in talks with private equity firm ChrysCapital to raise $100 million (Rs 828 crore).

Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart has created a house of brands in the eyewear space. It reported a net loss of Rs 102.3 crore in FY22 compared to a net profit of Rs 29 crore last year, hurt by a sharp rise in total expenses, according to regulatory filings.

In total, the eyewear retailer has raised over $900 million to date and is looking at a public listing in the next three years.

Lenskart is backed by marquee investment firms such as SoftBank Group Corp, KKR & Co, PremjiInvest, Temasek Holding Pte, and Alpha Wave Ventures. In June last year, Lenskart acquired Japanese eyewear brand OWNDAYS for about $400 million, which is expected to help its expansion into the Southeast Asian markets.

Disclaimer: This copy has been updated to add some information.