Lenskart Initiates Talks With Bankers For $1 Bn IPO Pitch: Report

SUMMARY

Lenskart has initiated talks with bankers to pitch for an IPO, with the Peyush Bansal-led company looking to raise anywhere from $750 Mn to $1 Bn

The omnichannel eyewear retailer is eyeing a valuation of $7-8 Bn through its IPO and is likely to list on the Indian bourses toward FY26-end

Lenskart reported a net loss of INR 10 Cr in FY24 on an operating revenue of INR 5427.7 Cr

Omnichannel eyewear retailer LensKart is gearing up for its initial public offering (IPO), following in the footsteps of new-age tech firms such as Zepto, OfBusiness, Pine Labs, Razorpay, boAt, CarDekho, and Captain Fresh that are looking to go public in the near future.

Lenskart has initiated talks with bankers to pitch for an IPO, with the Peyush Bansal-led company looking to raise anywhere from $750 Mn to $1 Bn, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources.

The report further said that Lenskart is eyeing a valuation of $7-8 Bn through its IPO and is likely to list on Indian bourses toward the end of the financial year 2025-26 (FY26).

Inc42 has reached out to Lenskart cofounder Peyush Bansal for comments on the development. The story will be updated if and when we get a response.

Founded in 2010 by Bansal, Amit Chaudhury, and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer. Besides India, it has a presence in the UAE, Singapore, and Japan among others.

The company has over 2,500 stores, of which around 2,000 are in India. It claims to have a customer base of 2 Cr.

The eyewear startup narrowed its net loss by 84% to INR 10 Cr in FY24 from INR 64 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue jumped 43% to INR 5,427.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 3,788 Cr in FY23.

Lenskart’s public listing plans come amid the IPO boom of new-age tech companies in India with more than 20 homegrown startups planning to make their Dalal Street debut in 2025.

While the likes of ArisInfra, Ecom Express, and Smartworks have received the nod from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for their respective IPOs, Ather Energy, BlueStone, and DevX have filed their draft red herring prospectuses (DRHPs) and are awaiting the market regulator’s go ahead.

Several other startups, including the likes of ride-hailing major Ola Consumer, audio products and smartwatch maker boAt, coworking space provider IndiQube, and B2B marketplace OfBusiness, have also stacked up plans for bumper IPOs.

The ongoing IPO mania is also fuelling a trend of ‘reverse flipping’ in the homegrown startup ecosystem with new-age tech companies such as fintech unicorn Razorpay, quick commerce unicorn Zepto, and fintech major Pine Labs set to shift their domicile back to India.

It must be noted that 13 homegrown startups went public last year, including foodtech giant Swiggy, fintech major MobiKwik, electric vehicle maker Ola Electric, coworking startup Awfis, and insurtech giant Go Digit, among others. Together, these startups raised a record INR 29,000 Cr+ via their initial share sales.