Fidelity Increases IPO-Bound LensKart Valuation By 21% To $6.1 Bn

A fund managed by US-based financial services major Fidelity Investments has reportedly marked up the valuation of IPO-bound omnichannel retail eyewear major LensKart. 

As per an ET report, the new valuation marks a 21% increase from the previous $5 billion assessment at which Fidelity had purchased shares in Lenskart.

The updated figure was revealed in Fidelity’s latest monthly portfolio holdings update as of April 30.

Crossover funds like Fidelity, which invest in publicly listed and privately held companies periodically review the performance of their portfolio on the basis of their financial statements and comparable growth with other peers.

Fidelity joined the captable of the Piyush Bansal-led unicorn last year when it raised $200 Mn from Temasek and Fidelity Management & Research Company. At the time, Fidelity had valued LensKart at $5 Bn. 

The D2C eyewear startup attained its unicorn status back in 2019 when it raised $231 Mn from SoftBank.

The development comes at a time when the Delhi NCR-based startup is gearing up for its public listing. LensKart is looking to raise between $700 Mn to $1 Bn from its initial public listing and is seeking a valuation of around $7-8 Bn. 

It is not clear when LensKart is looking to get listed on the bourses.    

LensKart’s Route To Dalal Street

As many new-age startups are inching forward towards making their public listing debut, LensKart is also making preparations. In its run-up to the IPO, last week the startup’s board passed a special resolution approving to drop the word ‘Private’ from its name. Besides, LensKart has also picked Kotak Mahindra Bank and Morgan Stanley as its investment bankers for its IPO and is also seeking to raise a pre-IPO round of $1 Bn. 

Founded in 2010 by Bansal, Amit Chaudhury and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer serving customers in India, the UAE, Singapore, and Japan. The company claims to have over 2,500 stores and a customer base of 2 Cr.

On the financial front, the startup narrowed its net loss by 84% to INR 10 Cr in FY24 from INR 64 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, operating revenue jumped 43% to INR 5,427.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 3,788 Cr in FY23.

According to Inc42’s IPO tracker, as much as 25 startups are racing towards getting listed on the bourses and a few of them have already got a nod from SEBI on their draft red herring prospectus, but Ather is the only startup which managed to make it to its IPO.