Despite buzz over its steep valuation and mixed analyst reviews, Lenskart Solutions’ ₹7,278-crore IPO turned out to be a blockbuster, drawing bids worth ₹1.13 lakh crore and was subscribed 28.27 times on the final day of bidding today.

The Peyush Bansal-led eyewear retailer saw overwhelming demand from institutional investors, led by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). The portion reserved for QIBs was booked 40.36 times, followed by non-institutional investors and retail investors, whose quotas received 18.23x and 7.56x bidding, respectively. The employee quota received nearly five times bidding.

The company had reserved up to 75% of the shares for QIBs, 15% for NIIs, and the remaining 10% for retail investors, including employees. A discount of ₹19 per share was offered to employees.

The public issue, which opened for bidding on October 31, was subscribed 1.13 times on Day 1 and 2.02 times on Day 2. The momentum picked up sharply on the final day, driven by robust participation across all investor categories, culminating in a stellar 28 times overall subscription.

The IPO, offered in a price band of ₹382–₹402 per share, received 9.97 crore bids against 2.82 crore shares on offer. The minimum retail investment was ₹14,874 for a lot of 37 shares.

One of the most closely tracked offerings of the year, Lenskart’s IPO comprised a ₹2,150 crore fresh issue and an offer for sale of ₹5,128 crore. At the upper end of the price band, the company is seeking a valuation of ₹69,726 crore.

Of the ₹2,150 crore raised through the fresh issue, ₹272.6 crore will be used to establish around 620 new company-owned, company-operated (CoCo) stores across India by FY29, while ₹591.4 crore has been allocated towards lease deposits for its existing outlets.

The company also plans to deploy ₹213.4 crore to strengthen its technology and cloud infrastructure, with a focus on expanding AI-driven fulfillment systems and robotic lens manufacturing facilities. Additionally, ₹320 crore has been earmarked for brand marketing and business promotion activities.

Lenskart reported healthy growth in its profitability in the financial year 2024-25, with revenue rising from ₹3,788 crore in FY23 to ₹6,652 crore in FY25. The profit after tax (PAT) surged to ₹295.6 crore, climbing from a loss of ₹68 crore in FY23 and ₹17.5 crore in FY24. On the operating front, EBITDA jumped nearly four times from ₹263.8 crore in FY23 to ₹975.5 crore in FY25, while margins improved steadily from 7% in FY23 to 14.7% in FY25.

The allotment of Lenskart shares are likely to be finalised on November 6 and listing tentatively set for November 10 on the BSE and NSE.

In the grey market, Lenskart shares were quoting at a ₹53 premium, hinting at a 13.18% listing gain with an estimated debut price of around ₹455 per share.

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