Lenskart Solutions, India’s largest eyewear retailer, is in the final day of bidding for its Rs 7,278-crore initial public offering. Interest from investors has been firm so far. By the end of the second day, bids were placed for 20.11 crore shares, compared with the 9.97 crore shares available, taking total subscription to 2.02 times.While the bidding pace has been steady, the IPO’s grey market premium has slipped from nearly 21.14% earlier to about 14.7% now.At present, the GMP stands at about Rs 59 per share, translating to roughly a 14.5% premium over the upper end of the price band. This indicates an estimated listing price of around Rs 461 if current trends continue. Meanwhile, activity from individual investors led to the response. Retail Individual Investors subscribed 3.33 times the 1.80 crore shares earmarked for them. Non-Institutional Investors bid for 1.89 times the 2.71 crore shares on offer in their category, while Qualified Institutional Buyers subscribed 1.64 times the 5.42 crore shares reserved for them, according to BSE data.

What should investors do?

Though the GMP has eased, brokerages remain optimistic about Lenskart’s prospects, with multiple firms advising investors to stay invested for the long haul. SBI Securities, according to ET, issued a “Subscribe for Long Term” recommendation, pointing to the firm’s strong market position, integrated supply chain, improving profit metrics, brand strength and solid business fundamentals. Ventura Securities has also given a “Subscribe” call, describing Lenskart as a visionary, growth-focused company. It emphasises the retailer’s tech-enabled model, AI-backed customer engagement and efficient store-level economics, where each outlet delivers a payback in under a year. Ventura expects profits to grow further as Lenskart expands operations and accelerates its international push. Nirmal Bang concurs that the IPO is priced on the higher side, yet says the valuation is reasonable when compared with other modern retail players, including Trent and Metro Brands. The brokerage has assigned a “Subscribe with Long-Term View” rating and attributes its optimism to Lenskart’s strong brand recall, premium product offerings and aggressive global expansion plans.

Lenskart IPO

The company is raising capital through a mix of fresh shares and an offer for sale. Of the total issue size, Rs 2,150 crore is being raised through a fresh issue. The remaining Rs 5,128 crore comes from existing shareholders selling part of their stake, including SoftBank, Kedaara Capital and Temasek. Shares are priced in a range of Rs 382–Rs 402 each.At the top end of the pricing, the company is valued at a price-to-earnings ratio of 235x its FY25 earnings and an EV/EBITDA multiple of 68x, placing the IPO among the most expensive public listings in the retail space in recent years. The funds raised from the fresh issue are earmarked for expansion and growth initiatives.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)