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Eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions is hoping to make a strong market debut with its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). The company has fixed a price band of Rs 382 to Rs 402 per share, bringing the IPO's size to Rs 7,278.01 ($826 million) crore at the upper end. This would value the company at around Rs 69,676 crore ($7.9 billion) at the upper end. The issue will open for subscription on October 31, following anchor bids on October 30. It will close on November 4, with allotments on November 6 and listing expected on November 10. Co-founder and CEO Peyush Bansal stands to make the biggest gains. Bansal owns 17.3 crore shares, a 10.3% stake in Lenskart, acquired at an average price of Rs 18.6 per share. His stake, valued at Rs 322 crore before the price band announcement, is now worth Rs 6,964 crore, yielding a 2,061% return. Neha Bansal, Co-founder and Executive Director, holds 12.8 crore shares bought at Rs 7.6 apiece. Her holding, once valued at Rs 98 crore, is now worth Rs 5,156 crore, an eye-popping 5,189% gain. SoftBank’s SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman), which owns 25.3 crore shares (15.3%), purchased at an average of Rs 74.3 per share, will see its investment value rise from Rs 1,882 crore to Rs 10,188 crore, a 441% gain. Temasek’s MacRitchie Investments Pte, with 8.2 crore shares acquired at Rs 97.8 each, will see its stake appreciate from Rs 800 crore to Rs 3,293 crore, translating into a 311% return. Co-founders Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi, who each own around 1.6–1.7 crore shares, purchased at roughly Rs 8 per share, will also see windfalls. Their stakes, previously valued at around Rs 13 crore each, are now worth over Rs 645 crore, marking returns of nearly 4,800%. Private equity firm Kedaara Capital, through its Fund II LLP, holds 8.9 crore shares at an average cost of Rs 75. Its holding, valued earlier at Rs 667 crore, is now worth Rs 3,579 crore, a 436% rise. PremjiInvest’s PI Opportunities Fund II will also reap significant gains, with its 8.6 crore shares (5.1%) acquired at Rs 24 each now valued at Rs 3,474 crore, up 1,565%. Other investors, including Alpha Wave Ventures, Bay Capital, Chiratae Trust, Birdseye View Holdings, and Schroders Capital, will also see multi-fold appreciation, with returns ranging from 145% to over 1,400%. The offer-for-sale size for Lenskart’s IPO has been trimmed by 47.26 lakh shares to 12.75 crore shares, down from the 13.22 crore shares proposed in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), after co-founder Neha Bansal reduced her share sale. On October 23, Shrikanta R. Damani, the wife of DMart founder Radhakishan Damani, purchased 22,38,806 equity shares in Lenskart, representing a 0.13% stake, from promoter Neha Bansal at Rs 402 per share, a transaction valued at about Rs 90 crore. The company has set aside shares worth Rs 15 crore from its IPO for employees. Of the remaining offer, up to 75% is allocated to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 15% to non-institutional investors, and 10% to retail investors. Lenskart plans to deploy Rs 272.6 crore from the fresh issue proceeds to open new company-owned company-operated (CoCo) stores across India, and Rs 591.4 crore towards payments related to lease, rent, and license agreements for these stores. An additional Rs 213.4 crore will go toward strengthening technology and cloud infrastructure, Rs 320 crore for brand marketing and business promotion, and the remaining funds will be used for potential inorganic acquisitions and general corporate purposes. India is Lenskart’s largest market. The eyewear retailer has also expanded its footprint across select international markets such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan. In the organised eyewear segment, it competes with players like Specsmakers Opticians, GKB Opticals, Eyegear Optics India, Lawrence and Mayo (India), Gangar Opticians, and Titan Company’s eyecare division. Lenskart Solutions reported a sharp turnaround in the year ended March 2025, posting a profit of Rs 297.3 crore compared with a loss of Rs 10.1 crore in FY24. Revenue for the year rose 22.6% to Rs 6,652.5 crore from Rs 5,427.7 crore. For the quarter ended June 2025, the company reported a profit of Rs 61.2 crore against a loss of Rs 11 crore in the same period last year. Revenue during the quarter jumped 24.6% to Rs 1,894.5 crore from Rs 1,520.4 crore. Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Axis Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India, Morgan Stanley India Company, Avendus Capital, and Intensive Fiscal Services are serving as the book-running lead managers for the IPO. (Edited by Kanishk Singh)
