Temasek-backed eyewear firm Lenskart seesaws in India trading debut

[MUMBAI] Temasek-backed Lenskart Solutions swung between gains and losses on its Mumbai trading debut after the company’s initial public offering raised 72.8 billion rupees (S$1.1 billion) and fuelled a debate over soaring Indian startup valuations.

Shares of the eyewear retailer founded by "Shark Tank India" judge Peyush Bansal tumbled as much as 12 per cent early on Monday (Nov 10), before rebounding to as high as 413.80 rupees, up 2.9 per cent from the IPO price. The stock ended up closing up 0.3 per cent.

The IPO attracted subscriptions that were 28 times the amount of shares on offer, led by institutional investors, but the stock was valued at 238 times last fiscal year’s earnings in its IPO – versus the multiple of 42 that the BSE Consumer Discretionary index trades at. Concerns about high valuations prompted Ambit Capital to initiate coverage of the company with a sell recommendation.

“While the business may be good, the current price levels may be difficult to sustain in the short term,” said Shankar Sharma, founder of GQuant.

In recent days, social media criticism over the IPO’s valuation got so heated that DSP Asset Managers publicly defended its investment in Lenskart. The mutual fund said the company’s business is “strong and scalable,” but conceded the deal was “expensive.”

The listing comes as India strengthens its position as a global fundraising hub, supported by deep domestic liquidity and a fast-growing retail investor base. It’s the world’s fourth-busiest IPO market this year, attracting investors seeking exposure to its expanding consumer economy. Indian debuts have raised about US$16 billion so far in 2025.

SEE ALSO

Lenskart US$821 million IPO price sparks concern over Indian startup valuations

Lenskart starts taking orders for 72.8 billion rupees India IPO

SoftBank-backed Lenskart IPO to raise as much as 72.8 billion rupees

Temasek-backed Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart files for IPO, to raise 21.5 billion rupees in fresh issue

More

Upcoming big IPOs in the country include billionbrains Garage Ventures, parent of top Indian online broker Groww, and digital-payments provider Pine Labs, which is backed by Mastercard and PayPal Holdings.

Following the IPO, Lenskart has a market value of about 700 billion rupees – higher than those of established consumer companies including Colgate-Palmolive India, United Breweries, Page Industries and one of Procter & Gamble’s Indian units.

Besides Temasek, investors in Lenskart’s IPO included funds from SoftBank, JPMorgan Chase, Nomura Holdings, Amundi and HSBC Holdings. BLOOMBERG