Lenskart IPO: Eyewear firm files draft papers with Sebi for Rs 8,000 crore listing
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Omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart on Tuesday filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 2,150 crore in fresh capital.Including secondary sales, the total IPO size is expected to be Rs 7,500-8,000 crore ($850-900 million), people briefed on its plans told ET. This would make it one of the largest public offerings this year, following those of Tata Capital and LG Electronics , which are planning to go public in the second half.The company is targeting a valuation of Rs 70,000-75,000 crore ($8-9 billion), one of the persons said. These numbers, however, could change at the time of listing, depending on the market conditions.The issue will include an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 132.2 million shares, with investors such as SoftBank, Kedaara Capital, Temasek, and Alpha Wave Global offloading their stakes. Founders Peyush Bansal , Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi are expected to sell 31.8 million shares.CEO Peyush Bansal has, meanwhile, picked up a 2.5% stake in the company from investors at a steep discount through a series of secondary transactions in recent weeks.SoftBank, Kedaara, Chiratae, TR Capital, Temasek, Premji Invest and others sold a small portion of their shares to Bansal in deals that valued Lenskart at approximately Rs 8,700 crore (around $1 billion).The transactions were structured to reward him ahead of the IPO, people cited above said. Bansal purchased the shares for a total of Rs 222 crore.Lenskart had won the Startup of the Year at the ET Startup Awards 2024 Kotak Mahindra , Morgan Stanley, Citi, Avendus Capital and Intensive Fiscal Services are merchant bankers for its IPO.It is the biggest among a number of new-age company IPOs lined up for this year. Stockbroking firm Groww , ecommerce marketplace Meesho , and edtech platform PhysicsWallah are also preparing sizable listings. Unlike Lenskart, they have opted for Sebi 's confidential filing process.Lenskart will use around Rs 272 crore of fresh capital from the issue for setting up new stores in India, while Rs 591 crore will be utilised towards meeting leasing, rental and other expenses of its existing 2,700-plus stores.The company has also earmarked an undisclosed portion of the proceeds for acquisitions.Lenskart, in its IPO papers, said it is acquiring 80% of Spanish fashion eyewear brand Meller for Rs 407 crore.It had previously acquired Japanese direct-to-consumer eyewear brand Owndays in August 2022 . In 2024, it made a minority investment in Paris-based omnichannel eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier, and in 2025, it made a minority investment in Ajna Lens, a Mumbai-based deeptech company building artificial intelligence (AI)-powered XR glasses.Lenskart turned profitable in fiscal 2025, posting a net profit of Rs 297 crore against a net loss of Rs 10 crore in FY24. Its revenue increased 22% to Rs 6,625 crore from Rs 5,428 crore in the previous year.Rival Titan EyeCare, owned by Tata Group's listed firm Titan Company , reported a 10% increase in its revenue for FY25 at Rs 796 crore, as per the company's annual report.Of Lenskart's total revenue in fiscal 2025, more than 40% came from international markets including Taiwan, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and West Asia.'In its conversations with public market investors, Lenskart is not just selling the India consumption story but is also leaning heavily on its Asia Pacific growth story, which is backed by its 2022 acquisition of OwnDays,' one of the people cited above said. 'FY25 is the first time the full impact of that acquisition shows up in its numbers.'The company's standalone international revenue of Rs 2,638 crore in FY25 is a 17% increase from Rs 2,265 crore in fiscal 2024.Lenskart has also showcased high product margins -- particularly as a result of its increasing domestic manufacturing plans -- reaching 68.5% in fiscal 2025, up from 63.5% in FY23.Currently, Lenskart has operational domestic manufacturing facilities in Gurgaon and Rajasthan, with a third one coming up in Telangana, for which it has committed an investment of Rs 1,500 crore.
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