Top insurers and mutual funds invest in Lenskart’s Rs 3,268 crore anchor round ahead of IPO

Eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions has raised Rs 3,268.36 crore from 147 anchor investors ahead of its much-awaited IPO, which opens for subscription on October 31 and closes on November 4. The company has allotted 8.13 crore equity shares at the high end of the price band – Rs 402 per share (face value Rs 2 each) to a mix of large domestic and global institutional investors.

The strong anchor participation underlines robust investor confidence in India’s largest omnichannel eyewear brand, which is now making its debut in the public markets. Of the total allocation, 2.87 crore shares (35.34%) were taken up by 21 domestic mutual funds across 59 schemes, reflecting broad participation from India’s top institutional investors.

Among the domestic anchors, participation came from leading fund houses such as SBI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Axis Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Mirae Asset, DSP Mutual Fund, Franklin India, HSBC Mutual Fund, WhiteOak Capital, Edelweiss, Bandhan and Canara Robeco.

Major domestic insurance companies also joined the anchor book, including SBI Life, HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential Life, Bajaj Allianz Life, Kotak Mahindra Life, Axis Max Life, Reliance Nippon Life and Tata AIA Life Insurance.

Strong global response from long-only funds

Lenskart also attracted significant participation from foreign investors, including some of the world’s largest sovereign and institutional funds. The Government of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Government Pension Fund Global (Norway) were among the main sovereign participants.

The anchor list also included leading global asset managers such as New World Fund Inc, Fidelity, T Rowe Price, BlackRock, Capital Group, Goldman Sachs, Nomura, Amundi, JP Morgan and Wellington Management Company LLP, underscoring the global interest in India’s growing consumer technology.

Lenskart IPO details

The Rs 7,278 crore IPO includes a fresh issue of Rs 2,150 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 5,128 crore by existing shareholders including Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Kedaara Capital and Temasek. The price band of the issue has been fixed at Rs 382-402 per share, and investors can bid for a minimum of 37 shares and in multiples thereafter. At the higher end of the price range, Lenskart is valued at a market cap of around Rs 69,700 crore, making it one of the most valuable consumer tech IPOs in recent years. The company plans to use the new proceeds for store expansion, technology investments, marketing and brand building.