DMart's Radhakishan Damani invests Rs 90 crore in Lenskart ahead of IPO

Radhakishan Damani

Billionaire investor Radhakishan Damani, founder of Avenue Supermarts (DMart), has invested around Rs 90 crore in eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions in a pre-IPO (initial public offering) funding round, people familiar with the development said on Friday.

The investment comes ahead of Lenskart’s maiden public offering, which is expected to open for public subscription next week. The eyewear retailer is looking to raise Rs 2,150 crore through fresh issuance of equity shares, besides, promoters and investors would offload 13.22 crore equity shares, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). As a part of the OFS, promoters — Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi; investors — SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) Ltd, Schroders Capital Private Equity Asia Mauritius Ltd, PI Opportunities Fund – II, Macritchie Investments Pte. Ltd., Kedaara Capital Fund II LLP, and Alpha Wave Ventures LP — would offload shares.

Lenskart proposes to utilise the proceeds from the IPO for various strategic initiatives, including capital expenditure for setting up new Company-operated Company-owned (CoCo) stores in India; payments related to lease, rent, and license agreements for these CoCo stores; investments in technology and cloud infrastructure; brand marketing and business promotion to enhance brand awareness; potential unidentified inorganic acquisitions; and general corporate purposes. The company, one of India’s largest omni-channel eyewear retailers, offers a wide range of affordable and fashionable prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses through its online platform and extensive retail network.

Founded in 2008, Lenskart started as an online eyewear platform in 2010 and opened its first physical store in New Delhi in 2013. Over the years, it has evolved into one of the country’s most prominent consumer brands in the eyewear category. The company has a presence across metro, Tier-1, and Tier-2 cities, along with international operations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.