Lenskart eyes ₹70K crore valuation as it plans fifth-largest IPO of 2025

Indian eyewear retailer aims to raise $830 million amid a surge of listings, with plans to expand its retail footprint and invest in technology and brand marketing

Eyewear retailer Lenskart is all set to go public with the issue opening from October 31 - November 4, at a valuation of around $8 billion (nearly ₹70,000 crore). The market debut is scheduled for November 10.

 

The Softbank-backed firm has fixed a price band of ₹382-402 per share. The offer comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to ₹2,150 crore (the “fresh issue”) and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 127,562,573 equity shares by certain existing shareholders. The offer for sale is  ₹4,875 crore, taking the total issue size to  ₹7,024 crore.

 

The company plans to raise as much as $830 million in what would be India’s fifth-largest IPO of the year. The offering comes amid a surge of new listings — including Tata Capital and LG Electronics India — as the country’s equity market heads towards another record year for public debuts.

 

Among the selling shareholders are cofounders Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi, as well as investors including SoftBank’s SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) Ltd, Schroders Capital Private Equity Asia Mauritius Ltd, PI Opportunities Fund-II, Macritchie Investments Pte Ltd, Kedaara Capital Fund II LLP, and Alpha Wave Ventures LP.

 

The offer comprises an employee reservation portion aggregating up to ₹150 million with the balance offer size being called as the “net offer”.

 

The initial public offering (IPO) will be conducted through the book-building process in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) regulations, and the shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and NSE.

 

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited, Avendus Capital Private Limited, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited, Axis Capital Limited, and Intensive Fiscal Services Private Limited are the Book Running Lead Managers (“BRLMs”) to the issue.

 

Lenskart plans to add 450 stores in the current financial year, its fastest expansion in three years. The addition would take Lenskart’s store count to more than 3,150 across 14 countries, representing a 34 per cent rise from the 334 stores opened last year.

 

The company plans to utilise the IPO proceeds for several strategic initiatives, including capital expenditure for setting up new company-owned, company-operated (CoCo) stores in India, and payments related to leases, rent, and licences for these outlets.

 

It also plans to invest in technology and cloud infrastructure, brand marketing, and business promotion to strengthen brand awareness. Other allocations include potential inorganic acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

 

In 2024-25 (FY25), Lenskart reported revenue from operations of ₹6,652.5 crore, up 22.5 per cent from ₹5,427.7 crore in FY24. The company posted a net profit of ₹297.34 crore, against a net loss of ₹10.15 crore in FY24.

 

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda), excluding other income, stood at ₹971 crore, up 44.5 per cent from ₹672 crore in FY24.

 

By 2030, nearly one billion people in India will require vision correction, but fewer than 40 per cent are expected to wear prescription glasses. With its direct-to-consumer (D2C) focus and early investments in AI-led eye tests and brand-building, Lenskart aims to tap this latent demand. 

Globally and in India, Gurugram-based Lenskart competes with players such as Titan Eyeplus, Specsmakers, Vision Express, Warby Parker, and Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group. 

Founded in 2008, Lenskart launched online operations in 2010 and opened its first retail store in New Delhi in 2013. It now operates India’s largest eyewear retail network, with a presence across metros and smaller cities, as well as in Southeast Asia and West Asia.