SoftBank, Schroders Capital set for big gains in Lenskart IPO
Schroders and SoftBank are selling 19 and 25.5 million shares, respectively, emerging as the largest selling institutional shareholders in Lenskart.
Japan’s SoftBank Group and Schroders Capital will make blockbuster gains as eyewear retailer Lenskart inches closer to a public market debut, in what will be one of this year’s most sought-after initial public offerings.
Schroders and SoftBank—selling 19 and 25.5 million shares, respectively—have emerged as the largest selling institutional shareholders, according to the company's Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with the National Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The weighted average price for Schroders, according to the DRHP, is Rs 40.90 apiece and Rs 74.26 per share for SoftBank. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that Schroders would likely see an 11X return, while SoftBank would get around a 6X return.
Given that Lenskart is reportedly looking to raise Rs 8,000 crore in the entire issue, the offer for sale (OFS) of 132.33 million equity shares indicates a price of approximately Rs 450 per share. The IPO also comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,150 crore.
While the final IPO size and pricing may change, this working framework provides an indicative picture of the scale of wealth generation underway.
Similarly, other early stakeholders are seeing lucrative exits. PI Opportunities Fund, Kedaara Capital, and Alpha Wave Ventures are set to clock 19X, 6X, and 4X returns, respectively. However, these investors are selling many fewer shares compared to SoftBank and Schroders.
Lenskart has appointed Kotak Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley, Avendus, Citi, Axis Capital, and Intensive Fiscal as its book-running lead managers. It recently received shareholder approval to go public and converted into a public limited company earlier this year.
The NCR-headquartered eyewear retailer has steadily reduced its losses in recent years, ahead of its public market debut. The company reported a profit of Rs 297.3 crore for the financial year ended March 2025, its IPO filings showed.
In FY24, it cut losses by 84% to Rs 10.15 crore, down from Rs 63.7 crore in FY23, after achieving EBITDA-level profitability. Revenue from operations rose 22% YoY to Rs 6,652 crore in FY25. This marked a slowdown in growth from the 43% increase recorded between FY23 and FY24.
Edited by Suman Singh