The initial public offering (IPO) of eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions has defied valuation concerns with the issue getting fully subscribed on the very first day of bidding. The IPO was booked 1.13 times as of 5:00 PM on Friday. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) category led with 1.42x subscription while retail investors followed closely at 1.31x. The portion for Non-Institutional Investor (NII) was booked 0.41 times and the employee portion was subscribed 1.10 times.
The Lenskart IPO sailing through on the first day coincides with a surge in its grey market premium (GMP). On Friday, Lenskart shares were commanding a GMP of Rs 66 per share, suggesting the stock is trading Rs 66 above its issue price of Rs 402. Based on the current GMP and price band, the shares indicate a potential listing gain of around 16.4%. Strong demand from anchor investors has also boosted market sentiment.
A full subscription on day one comes even as some market observers argue that the eyewear startup’s valuation leaves a limited upside for retail investors. Lenskart turned profitable only in FY25, posting a net profit of Rs 297 crore and its Rs 70,000 crore valuation at the upper end of the IPO price band translates to a steep 237 times price-to-earnings multiple.
This, according to many, makes the IPO a highly ‘expensive’ affair. Harshal Dasani, Business Head, INVasset PMS, said that Lenskart’s forward valuation implies over 200 times current earnings, making it one of the most expensive listings in India’s digital retail space.
“The real question isn’t whether Lenskart deserves this valuation, but whether it can grow into it. With revenues rising sharply in FY24 and losses narrowing, the company’s omni-channel strategy, private-label dominance, and global expansion give it credible growth levers. However, sustaining 30–40% revenue growth while expanding margins in a competitive eyewear market will be critical to support such rich pricing,” added Dasani.
Adding to concerns, just three months before the IPO, cofounder and chairman Peyush Bansal had reportedly taken a Rs 220 crore loan to purchase Lenskart shares at an Rs 8,500 crore valuation. Now, in November, he is offloading shares to the public and institutional investors at nearly nine times that valuation.
Lenskart’s IPO valuation of Rs 70,000 crore makes it 90% of the entire Indian eyewear market size of Rs 78,800 crore in FY25. Analysts say this valuation is unusually high compared to the market it currently serves.
The Gurugram-based company on Thursday raised Rs 3,268.4 crore from 147 anchor investors, a day before the issue opened for public subscription. Several global investors participated including the government of Singapore, T Rowe Price, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Fidelity, and domestic mutual fund houses such as SBI MF, HDFC AMC, ICICI Prudential MF, WhiteOak Capital and Kotak Mahindra AMC became shareholders in the company.
Lenkskart has launched its IPO with a price band fixed at Rs 382–402 per share. The Rs 7,278-crore public issue will close on November 4. The issue consists of Rs 2,150 crore worth of fresh issue and the rest in secondary issuance by promoters and external investors like the Japanese powerhouse Softbank, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, and private equity player Kedaara Capital among others.
Early backers like Softbank, Temasek, Kedaara and the promoters of Lenskart are eyeing massive windfall gains from the IPO.
