SoftBank Sells 2.58% Lenskart Stake For ₹2,888 Crore In Fresh Block Deal
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SoftBank Group has sold a 2.58% stake in Lenskart Solutions for ₹2,887.87 crore through block deals. The sale reduced SoftBank’s holding in the eyewear company to 7.28%.
SoftBank Group has reduced its stake in Lenskart Solutions once again, selling a 2.58% holding in the eyewear company for ₹2,887.87 crore through block deals on Monday.
The Japanese investment group had also sold shares in Lenskart in June, offloading a 3.25% stake for ₹2,873 crore.
In the latest transaction, SoftBank sold the shares through its affiliate SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) Ltd.
SoftBank Sells 4.5 Crore Lenskart Shares
According to BSE block deal data, the SoftBank affiliate sold 4.5 crore Lenskart shares in 22 separate transactions.
The shares changed hands at an average price of ₹641.75 apiece. The total value of the transactions stood at ₹2,887.87 crore.
Following the sale, SoftBank's holding in Lenskart fell to 7.28% from 9.86%. It remains the second-largest public shareholder in the company.
Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, an investment vehicle linked to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, continues to hold the largest public stake in Lenskart at 9.77%.
Societe Generale Among Major Buyers
The block deal attracted several domestic and overseas institutional investors.
Among the Indian buyers were the National Pension System Trust and mutual funds managed by SBI, Edelweiss, Nippon India, Franklin Templeton, HDFC, HSBC, ICICI Prudential, Motilal Oswal and Sundaram.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance also participated in the transaction.
Societe Generale was the biggest foreign buyer in the deal. It purchased 1,07,35,000 Lenskart shares, equivalent to a 0.62% stake, at ₹641.75 per share.
The value of Societe Generale's purchase stood at ₹688.91 crore.
Other overseas investors that bought shares included Ghisallo Capital Management, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Vanguard, Wasatch Global Investors and Integrated Core Strategies Asia.
Universal Investment, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System and Kuwait Investment Authority were among the other buyers.
Lenskart Share Price
Lenskart shares ended 0.28% lower at ₹659.70 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday.
The latest transaction marks another reduction in SoftBank's holding in the eyewear retailer, following its earlier stake sale in June.
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This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice from Kotak Neo. For compliance T&C and disclaimers, Visit www.kotakneo.com/disclaimer
Vishwa has spent 10+ years across fintech and FMCG doing what most people miss, connecting the dots, catching trends before they trend, and finding the angle nobody else thought to ask about.
At Kotak Neo, she drives content strategy for neoshorts, Kotak News Desk, and Investing Guide, turning market noise into something worth reading.
When she's not decoding markets, she trades charts for canvases, chasing art, painting, and architecture across cities she's yet to explore.
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