Lenskart Gets SEBI Nod For Its D-Street Debut

Omnichannel eyewear giant LensKart has reportedly received market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) nod to undertake its initial public offering (IPO).

While there has not been a public announcement, sources confirmed the development to Moneycontrol. With this, Lenskart joins the growing list of homegrown startups headed to Dalal Street this year. 

This comes two months after the eyewear retailer filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI to raise up to INR 2,150 Cr via fresh issue of shares. The public issue will also comprise an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 13.2 Cr shares.

The OFS will see participation from promoters Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi. Alongside, institutional investors such as SoftBank, Temasek, Kedaara Capital, Alpha Wave Ventures, and others will also offload shares through the OFS. 

The startup plans to utilise the fresh proceeds from the IPO to build and operationalise new company-owned and company-operated stores, upgrading its tech stack and bolstering marketing activities. 

Founded in 2010 by Bansal, Amit Chaudhury and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer that caters to customers in India, the UAE, Singapore, Spain and Japan. While it primarily sells its offerings through its website and app, the company’s sales channel is also supported by an extensive offline presence. 

The company claims to have over 2,723 stores and a customer base of 2 Cr.

Backed by ChrysCapital, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Temasek, the Gurugram-based startup has raised over $1.75 Bn to date. 

On the financial front, the company swung to the black and clocked a net profit of INR 297.3 Cr in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) compared to a net loss of INR 10 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations grew 22.6% to INR 6,652.5 Cr in the fiscal under review as against INR 5,427.7 Cr in FY24.

The go ahead for the IPO comes at a time when a growing number of new-age tech companies are making a beeline for the exchanges. While seven startups have already made their public market debuts so far this year, Zappfresh is set to become the eighth company to list on the exchanges. 

Besides, new-age tech companies like Capillary Technologies, Aequs, Pine Labs and boAt have also received the nod from the regulator for their IPOs in the past month.