Spectacle To Stocks! Piyush Bansal’s Lenskart Gears Up For IPO, Becomes Public Entity Ahead of Potential IPO

As the Indian stock market has recovered from its consolidation phase, boosting India's initial public offering (IPO) market, eyewear company, Lenskart, has transitioned into a public company. The move has come as a part of Lenskart's wider plan to bring its IPO in primary market.

The Gurugram-based company is planning to raise nearly $1 billion with its IPO, reported INC 42 citing entracker. Ahead of its IPO launch, Lenskart's board passed a special resolution to change the name of the company from Lenskart Solution Private Limited to Lenskart Solution Limited.

Change in Lenskart's name would pave the way for the company to bring its IPO in more than one stock market exchanges. Despite multiple media reports claiming that Lenskart is planning to bring its IPO, the company is yet to officially announce its plans for a stock market debut or file for a Draft Red Herring Prospectus.

"In order to undertake the offer (IPO), the status of the company is required to be changed from a private company limited by shares to a public company limited by shares," Inc42 cited company's filing with Registrar of Companies.

Lenskart In Talks With Bankers For IPO Proposal

Few months ago, Lenskart was in talks with a consortium of bankers including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Avendus Capital, etc to plan its IPO, Moneycontrol had reported earlier.

As per the report, the Gurugram-based unicorn was in talks with bankers for a $750 million to nearly $1 billion IPO at a valuation of around $7-8 billion. The company is reportedly in talks to bring its IPO in the current financial year.

About Lenskart

Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhury, and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart operates as an omnichannel eyewear retailer in India, the UAE, Singapore, and Japan. The company boasts over 2,500 stores and serves a customer base of 20 million. Financially, Lenskart reduced its net loss by 84% to INR 10 crore in FY24 from INR 64 crore in FY23. Its operating revenue surged by 43% to INR 5,427.7 crore during this period.

Revival of IPO Market

India's IPO market has revived over the past few months amid renewed stock market sentiment and FII-DII inflows in India. With the revival of India's primary market, stock market investors are hoping to see a surge in IPO launches just like in 2024, which witnessed record level of IPO listings.

In the year 2024, nearly 13 such companies went public. Additionally, over 20 are planning IPOs this year. Recently, media-focused SaaS unicorn Amagi also became a public entity ahead of its IPO. In May, hospitality giant OYO began preparations for its IPO with plans to file its DRHP between August and September.

Stock market investment platform Groww has also filed draft IPO papers with SEBI last month through the pre-filing route. Additionally, fintech unicorn Pine Labs has transformed into a public entity as it prepares for its stock market debut.

Lenskart's strategic moves reflect broader trends in the industry as companies position themselves for growth through public offerings. By converting into a public entity and planning an IPO, Lenskart aims to capitalise on market opportunities while enhancing its financial standing.