SoftBank Pares Nearly 2.6% Stake in Lenskart for Rs 2,888 Crore

New Delhi: Technology investor SoftBank ​Group has once again trimmed its holding in Lenskart Solutions, selling nearly a 2.6 per cent stake in the eyewear retailer for Rs 2,888 crore through open market transactions on Monday.

In June, SoftBank sold a 3.25 per cent stake in Lenskart for Rs 2,873 crore.

In the latest transaction, Japan-based SoftBank ​Group, through its affiliate SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) Ltd, offloaded a total of 4.5 crore equity shares in 22 tranches, amounting to a 2.58 per cent stake in Gurugram-based Lenskart, as per the block deal data on the BSE.

The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 641.75 apiece, taking the combined deal size to Rs 2,887.87 crore.

The latest transaction brought SoftBank’s holding in Lenskart down to 7.28 per cent from 9.86 per cent, although it remains the second-largest public shareholder in the eyewear firm.

Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, continues to be the largest public shareholder of Lenskart with a 9.77 per cent stake.

The block deal saw participation from a wide range of institutional investors.

Domestic buyers included 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 was also among the buyers.

Among foreign investors, financial services company Societe Generale picked up the largest number of shares, acquiring 1,07,35,000 shares, representing a 0.62 per cent stake.

The shares were bought at the same price, taking the value of the transaction to Rs 688.91 crore.

Other foreign investors that lapped up shares of Lenskart included Ghisallo Capital Management, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Vanguard, Wasatch Global Investors, and Integrated Core Strategies Asia.

Other buyers included Frankfurt-based Universal Investment, Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System and Kuwait Investment Authority.

Shares of Lenskart Solutions fell 0.28 per cent to close at Rs 659.70 apiece on the BSE.

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