Lenskart Attracts Fresh Institutional Investment as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Buy 2.3% Stake
Lenskart Solutions, an eyeglasses company, had a 2.3% share purchased on June 11th by a group of global financial institutions led by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Societe Generale. In open market transactions, these shares were acquired from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for INR 1,960 crore. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Lenskart Solutions' share price increased 0.37% to INR 502 after the acquisition.
Participating foreign investors also included Viridian Asset Management of Hong Kong, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, Ghisallo Capital Management of Singapore, and Integrated Core Strategies (Asia) Pte Ltd of Singapore. Other domestic institutional investors who purchased Lenskart shares include ICICI Prudential MF, Kotak Mahindra MF, Mirae Asset MF, SBI MF, Canara Robeco MF, Franklin Templeton MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, and Alpha Alternatives Holdings of Mumbai.
Specifics of the Share Sale and Purchase Deal of Lenskart
The investors acquired a 2.3% interest in Lenskart Solutions, or 4,00,00,000 shares, in total. Together, the shares were purchased for INR 1,960 crore, with an average price of INR 490 per share. At the same time, the eyeglass shop headed by Peyush Bansal had the same amount of shares sold by Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust. The only person or entity that stands to gain from the Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a sovereign wealth fund.
According to the block deal data available on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the transaction also involved insurance corporations such as ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, and National Pension System (NPS) Trust.
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Some Interesting Facts of the Story |
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1.ADIA partially monetized its investment while
several global and domestic institutions increased exposure to Lenskart. 2.Lenskart has evolved from an online eyewear
startup into a global omnichannel eyewear retailer with a presence across
multiple international markets. 3.The transaction follows another major stake sale
by SoftBank, signaling increasing liquidity ahead of potential strategic
milestones. |
Current Market Performance of Lenskart
For INR 2,873 crore, tech investor SoftBank Group sold a 3.25% share in Lenskart Solutions last week. Before Lenskart went public, SoftBank was a major stakeholder. Increases in the costs of components and inventory led Lenskart to announce last month that its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) for the March quarter fell 7.5% year-on-year to INR 203.6 crore.
A regulatory filing from the previous year shows that the company's profit after tax was INR 220.1 crore for the same period. It also mentioned that its operational revenue increased 45.62% to about INR 2,516 crore in the March quarter compared to the same period last year, from INR 1,728 crore. Lenskart is present in both online and offline sectors. It manufactures eyeglasses items in-house and runs thousands of outlets in India and other international markets.
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Quick Shots |
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•Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Societe Generale
led a consortium of investors acquiring a 2.3% stake in Lenskart. •The stake purchase was valued at approximately INR
1,960 crore. •A total of 4 crore shares were bought at an average
price of INR 490 per share. •The stake was sold by Platinum Jasmine A 2018
Trust, whose sole beneficiary is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). |
