Lenskart Solutions Ltd, backed by SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Premji Invest, and Kedaara Capital, has raised ₹3,268.4 crore from 147 anchor investors on October 30, a day before its initial public offering (IPO) opened for public subscription.
The Gurugram-based eyewear brand, founded by Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi, will open its IPO to investors from October 31 to November 4. The public issue comprises a fresh share sale worth ₹2,150 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 12.75 crore shares valued at ₹5,128 crore. The price band has been set at ₹382–₹402 per share.
On Thursday, Lenskart finalised the allocation of 8,13,02,412 equity shares to anchor investors at the upper end of the price band.
The anchor book saw participation from several marquee global investors including the Government of Singapore, T. Rowe Price, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, New World Fund, Nomura, Wellington Management Company, Steadview Capital, Government Pension Fund Global, JP Morgan, Amundi Funds, and Allspring Global Investments.
Leading domestic mutual funds also participated in the anchor round, such as SBI MF, HDFC AMC, ICICI Prudential MF, WhiteOak Capital, Kotak Mahindra AMC, Axis MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, DSP MF, Mirae Asset, 360 ONE, Franklin India, HSBC MF, Edelweiss Trusteeship, Bandhan MF, and Mahindra Manulife.
Major insurance companies like SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life, Kotak Mahindra Life, Axis Max Life, Canara HSBC Life, Tata AIA Life, Reliance General Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Life, and Go Digit General Insurance also took part in the anchor investment.
Lenskart, which sells eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, and related accessories, operates 2,806 stores worldwide—including 2,137 in India and 669 international outlets.
The company plans to utilise ₹864 crore from the fresh issue proceeds for setting up new Company-Owned Company-Operated (CoCo) stores in India and for payments related to leases or licenses for such outlets. Additionally, ₹213.4 crore will be used for technology and cloud infrastructure, ₹320 crore for brand marketing and business promotion, and the remaining funds will go towards strategic acquisitions and general corporate purposes.
The proceeds from the OFS will go to existing shareholders, including SoftBank’s SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman), Schroders Capital, Premji Invest’s PI Opportunities Fund, Temasek Holdings’ MacRitchie Investments, Kedaara Capital, and Alpha Wave Ventures.
Founded in 2010 and having launched its first retail outlet in 2013, Lenskart has become the largest seller of prescription eyewear in India by volume, ahead of organized players like Titan Company (Eyecare Division), Eyegear Optics India, Gangar Opticians, GKB Opticals, Lawrence & Mayo (India), and Specsmakers Opticians.
The IPO is being managed by Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Morgan Stanley India Company, Avendus Capital, Citigroup Global Markets India, Axis Capital, and Intensive Fiscal Services as the book-running lead managers.
