Lenskart co-founder, CEO, and MD Peyush Bansal appears to have pulled off a masterstroke in timing, turning a calculated acquisition into a potential tenfold return, as the eyewear giant gears up for its initial public offering (IPO), which is set to open on October 31. 

According to IPO documents filed with Sebi, Peyush Bansal bought 4.27 crore shares from investors—including Kedara Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Alpha Wave, and IDG Ventures—between July 18 and July 24, 2025. The shares were acquired at ₹52 apiece for ₹221 crore. This translates to almost a 2.5% stake in the company. As of now, the promoter group, including co-founders Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi, holds a 19.96% stake in the company, with Peyush Bansal alone accounting for about half of it (10.28%). 

By the time Lenskart filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi on July 28, 2025, the shares Peyush Bansal had bought just days earlier had already surged several times over in the grey market. Lenskart’s unlisted shares are currently trading at around ₹510 each, valuing Peyush Bansal's recent investment at around ₹2,178 crore, which is 9.8x.

By acquiring shares from existing investors shortly before the DRHP filing, he not only increased his stake but also positioned himself to reap maximum gains from the market’s valuation optimism. Given the weighted average cost of acquisition based on primary and secondary transactions works out to ₹52, the promoters are already enjoying ₹1,957 crore in notional gains on the latest 2.5% tranche. At the current unofficial price of ₹510, Peyush Bansal’s entire 10.28% stake is valued at roughly ₹8,960 crore, implying gains of about ₹8,046 crore.

Market observers say such pre-IPO manoeuvres are not uncommon in India’s startup ecosystem, but the scale and timing of Peyush Bansal’s transactions make it particularly noteworthy.

The IPO anchor book of Lenskart will be launched for a day on October 30, while the public subscription will remain open till November 4, according to the Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) filed on October 25.. The country’s largest eyewear retailer is seeking to raise approximately ₹8,000 crore through the proposed share sale, which comprises a combination of a fresh issue and an offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders. The IPO is expected to be the fourth-largest issue of the year, following those of Tata Capital, HDB Financial Services, and LG Electronics.

The IPO includes fresh equity shares worth ₹2,150 crore and an OFS of up to 13.2 crore shares by existing investors and promoters, amounting to around ₹8,000 crore. The company is yet to officially announce the price band and the exact issue size. Though reports indicate the company is looking at a valuation of ₹70,000 crore.

Under the OFS, Japanese investor SoftBank, Mumbai-based private equity firm Kedaara Capital, Singapore’s state-owned investor Temasek, Alpha Wave Ventures, and promoters Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi plan to offload shares.

In 2024, Lenskart was valued at $5 billion after raising $200 million in secondary investment from Singapore’s Temasek and U.S.-based Fidelity. The company was valued at $4.5 billion when it raised $500 million from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in 2023.