Eyewear retailer Lenskart has filed draft papers with SEBI for a public market debut that could raise up to Rs 8,000 crore, comprising a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,150 crore and a secondary sale of up to 132.2 million shares by existing investors and promoters. The offer for sale (OFS) will make up the balance of the IPO size, and its final value will be determined by the price per share at listing.
Softbank, through its SVF II Lightbulb fund, will be the largest seller in the IPO, looking to offload up to 25.5 million shares from its 15.04% holding. At current estimates, this sale could reduce its stake in Lenskart by around 1.5%, netting the Japanese investor a substantial return given its weighted average acquisition price of Rs 74.26 per share.
PE firms, founders line up major exits
Private equity firm Schroders Capital is exiting completely, offering its entire 19 million shares in the IPO. Other prominent investors participating in the OFS include PI Opportunities Fund – II (Premji Invest), Macritchie Investments (Temasek), Alpha Wave Ventures LP and Kedaara Capital, offloading 8.7 million, 7.9 million, 6.7 million, and 7.4 million shares, respectively.
Premji Invest is expected to emerge with the highest exit multiple among institutional investors. Having entered at an average price of Rs 24.14 per share, its expected returns outpace all others, including Temasek, whose shares were acquired at Rs 97.75 apiece, and Alpha Wave, which bought in at Rs 105.92. In comparison, Schroders’ entry cost stood at Rs 40.90 and Kedaara’s at Rs 74.99.
Among the promoters, co-founder and CEO Peyush Bansal is selling up to 20.5 million shares. While this would reduce his holding in Lenskart by only 1.2%, the exit adds to his broader equity activity. Earlier this month, Bansal acquired 42.7 million shares at Rs 52 each in a secondary transaction, increasing his stake by 2.5% for Rs 222 crore. These purchases were executed at a steep discount, valuing the company at just $1 billion, far below the $8–9 billion valuation it is targeting through the IPO.
Neha Bansal, also a co-founder, is offering up to 5.7 million shares, which could shave 0.3% off her current 7.74% holding. Fellow founders Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi are each selling up to 2.9 million shares. Among the founders, Neha Bansal stands to gain significantly given her lower acquisition cost, resulting in an expected return that is 2.4x higher than Peyush Bansal’s and well above institutional exit multiples.
Proceeds to fund expansion
Of the Rs 2,150 crore raised via the fresh issue, Lenskart will use Rs 591.4 crore as lease deposits for existing stores and Rs 272.6 crore to fund 620 new company-owned, company-operated (CoCo) outlets in India by FY29. A further Rs 213.4 crore has been earmarked for strengthening its technology and cloud infrastructure, including AI-led fulfilment systems and robotic lens labs. Another Rs 320 crore will go toward brand marketing and business promotion.
Operationally, Lenskart reported a 22.5% rise in revenue in FY25, reaching Rs 6,652.5 crore, and swung to a profit of Rs 297.3 crore after a loss of Rs 10.2 crore in FY24. Ebitda rose to Rs 1,115 crore from Rs 763 crore a year earlier, with margins expanding from 14% to 17%.
Lenskart now operates 2,723 stores, including 2,067 in India and 656 overseas. It claims to have fulfilled over 100 million app downloads and maintains a 98% repeat order rate over the past two years in India.
Despite its growth, the company has flagged several risks in its DRHP, including its high reliance on the Gurugram-Bhiwadi industrial cluster. Disruptions there could affect output, especially as it works to establish a large lens manufacturing facility in Telangana under a Rs 1,500 crore MoU with the state government.
Lenskart’s board has also approved new compensation packages for senior executives. Peyush Bansal will draw Rs 6 crore annually, while Neha Bansal and Amit Chaudhary will receive Rs 3 crore each starting April 2025. Among independent directors, Jayesh Merchant will earn Rs 42 lakh per year, with Bijou Kurien drawing Rs 34 lakh.
Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley India, Avendus, Citigroup Global Markets India, Axis Capital and Intensive Fiscal Services are managing the IPO.