SBI Mutual Fund Invests ₹100 Crore in Lenskart Pre-IPO Round

SBI Mutual Fund, through its SBI Optimal Equity Fund and SBI Emergent Fund, has invested ₹100 crore in Lenskart Solutions via a pre-IPO secondary transaction at ₹402 per equity share, acquiring shares from promoter Neha Bansal whose stake slightly decreased from 7.61% to 7.46%. This investment precedes Lenskart's ₹7,278 crore IPO opening on October 31, 2025, with a price band of ₹382 to ₹402 per share, and includes a fresh issue worth ₹2,150 crore alongside an Offer for Sale (OFS) of 12.75 crore shares by promoters and investors. Notably, billionaire investor Radhakishan Damani, founder of Avenue Supermarts (DMart), also invested around ₹90 crore in a separate pre-IPO transaction. Lenskart plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand its company-operated stores across India, invest in technology and cloud infrastructure, enhance brand marketing, and pursue inorganic acquisitions. Founded in 2008 as an online eyewear platform, Lenskart now operates extensively across metro and Tier 1 and 2 cities and has expanded internationally, recently acquiring an 80% stake in Stellio Ventures, owner of the Meller eyewear brand. The company's IPO is expected to offer significant returns to promoters and early investors, with some seeing returns ranging from 4x to nearly 17x on their investments.