Early Backer Alpha Wave Ventures Pares Stake In Lenskart, Sells 2.46% Holding

Alpha Wave Ventures II LP, one of the early institutional investors in Lenskart, trimmed its position in the company on Monday through an open market transaction.

As per a regulatory filing with stock exchanges, the firm offloaded 4.3 crore shares, which works out to a 2.46% stake. The disclosure was triggered after the sale crossed the 2% threshold on 8 May.

Before the transaction, Alpha Wave Ventures II and persons acting in concert with it together held 12.37 crore shares of Lenskart, or 7.13% of the company. With this sale done, the combined holding now stands at 8.07 crore shares, or 4.67%.

Within that, Alpha Wave Ventures II's own direct stake has come down from 3.7% to 1.24%, while its affiliate Alpha Wave Ventures LP continues to hold 3.43%.

Going by Lenskart's disclosed equity capital of 173.64 crore shares, the sale of 4.3 crore shares stands out as one of the larger secondary stake transactions in the company in recent months.

What Lenskart Does

Lenskart is India's largest vertically integrated, technology-led, omnichannel eyewear platform. It operates in a category that remains under-tapped in India, where around 53% of the population is impacted by vision-related issues, yet eyewear penetration sits at just 35%.

The company has built a fairly strong moat over the years. It runs a centralised, highly automated manufacturing facility and logistics network, which gives it a cost edge through deep backward integration.

Add to that a large omnichannel presence, a technology-first approach to scaling, and a house-of-brands architecture covering everything from mass-market to premium eyewear, and the business has carved out a sizeable lead in a category that is otherwise tough to scale.

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What Brokerages Are Saying

A brokerage house recently initiated coverage on Lenskart. The brokerage expects the company to post a 25% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in pro forma consolidated revenue and a 53% CAGR in pre-IND AS earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) between FY25 and FY28.

The projected growth is likely to come from higher volumes, improving product margins, and operating leverage-led margin expansion of 625 basis points. Out of this, nearly 320 basis points of expansion is expected between the 9MFY26 and FY28 period.

Brokerage houses have also pointed out that Lenskart’s valuation remains higher than many leading retailers, mainly due to expectations around its long-term growth potential.

Source:

Economic Times