SoftBank Sells Lenskart Stake for ₹2,888 Crore

Technology investor SoftBank Group has further reduced its holding in eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions, selling approximately 2.6% for ₹2,888 crore through open market transactions on Monday.

The transaction, executed by its affiliate SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) Ltd, involved offloading 4.5 crore equity shares in 22 tranches.

Transaction Snapshot

• Stake Sold: 2.6%
• Total Value: ₹2,887.87 crore
• Shares Offloaded: 4.5 crore equity shares
• Average Sale Price: ₹641.75 apiece

This sale decreased SoftBank’s holding in Lenskart from 9.86% to 7.28%, yet it remains the company’s second-largest public shareholder.

Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, maintains its position as the largest public shareholder with a 9.77% stake.

Institutional Investor Activity

The block deal attracted a diverse range of institutional investors, encompassing both domestic and foreign entities.

• Societe Generale acquired the largest single block among foreign investors, purchasing 1,07,35,000 shares for ₹688.91 crore, representing a 0.62% stake.
• Other foreign buyers included Ghisallo Capital Management, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Vanguard, Wasatch Global Investors, Integrated Core Strategies Asia, Universal Investment, Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, and Kuwait Investment Authority.

Domestic institutional investors participating in the acquisition included National Pension System Trust and mutual funds managed by SBI, Edelweiss, Nippon India, Franklin Templeton, HDFC, HSBC, ICICI Prudential, Motilal Oswal, and Sundaram, alongside ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

Market Response

Following these transactions on Monday, shares of Lenskart Solutions closed down 0.28% at ₹659.70 apiece on the BSE.