Lenskart, Wakefit win Sebi nod for their IPO

Bengaluru: Lenskart Solutions Ltd and Wakefit Innovations Ltd have secured the market regulator’s approval for their initial public offering of shares.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has also cleared the IPO filings of Tenneco Clean Air India, Waterways Leisure and Tourism, Shree Ram Twistex, and Lamtuf, according to an update published by the regulator on Monday.

SoftBank Group-backed Lenskart, India’s largest eyewear retailer, filed its IPO documents in July, with plans to raise ₹2,150 crore via a fresh issue of shares and promoters and investors selling up to 132.2 million shares via an offer for sale.

A month earlier, Peak XV Partners-backed Wakefit, which sells mattresses, beds, sofas, and home furnishings, filed its application for a ₹468.2-crore IPO that would include a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale of up to 58.4 million shares by its founders and major private equity investors.

In an offer for sale, existing shareholders sell their shares to new investors, and the proceeds go directly to the selling shareholders.

Lenskart’s IPO

Apart from SoftBank’s SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman), selling shareholders in Lenskart’s OFS include Schroders Capital, PI Opportunities Fund (Premji Invest), MacRitchie Investments (Temasek), Kedaara Capital, and Alpha Wave Ventures.

Japanese investment firm SoftBank has partially or fully sold several of its longstanding investments in Indian startups during their IPOs. These include Paytm (One97 Communications), Policybazaar (PB Fintech), Delhivery, FirstCry (Brainbees Solutions), and Zomato (Eternal).

Lenskart’s founders Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, and Sumeet Kapahi will also be selling shares via the offer for sale.

Lenskart has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Avendus Capital as book-running lead managers for its IPO.

The company will use money from the IPO to open new company-owned stores, upgrade its technology, and for acquisitions, according to its draft red herring prospectus.

Lenskart’s operating income increased to ₹6,652 crore in 2024-25 from ₹5,427 crore in the year before. It also turned profitable in FY25, swinging to a net profit of ₹297 crore from a loss of ₹10 crore in FY24.

Wakefit’s IPO

Wakefit’s selling shareholders in its IPO include Investcorp funds, Verlinvest SA, Paramark KB Fund, and SAI Global India Fund. Axis Capital, IIFL Securities, and Nomura are the book-running lead managers for its new share issue.

Wakefit plans to use ₹82.1 crore from its IPO proceeds to open 118 stores, ₹145.2 crore for lease and licence payments on existing outlets, and ₹15.4 crore for equipment. The company also plans to allocate ₹108.4 crore to advertising and marketing, according to its IPO document.

Wakefit reported total income of ₹994.3 crore and a net loss of ₹8.8 crore for the first nine months of FY25, per its draft prospectus. In FY24, total income rose to ₹1,017.3 crore from ₹820 crore in FY23, while net loss narrowed sharply to ₹15.05 crore from ₹145.68 crore.