Alpha Wave Ventures LP is moving to exit a significant chunk of its holding in Lenskart Solutions, according to sources cited by CNBC-TV18. The global investment firm is preparing to sell up to 1.6% of the omnichannel eyewear retailer’s equity through a block deal. The base offer sits at ₹966 crore, representing roughly 0.9% of the company’s total equity, with an upsize option for an additional 0.7% stake worth ₹725 crore. If fully exercised, the total transaction value reaches ₹1,691 crore.
The pricing structure sets a floor at ₹640 per share. That figure represents a 5.56% discount to the stock’s closing price on the National Stock Exchange on Friday, October 9, when shares settled at ₹676.80. Sources indicate the seller will face a 30-day lock-in period on any further sale of shares, a standard provision in such large-scale institutional exits.
This isn’t the first time institutional money is flowing out of the stock. In late August, Alpha Wave Ventures sold 2.95 crore shares—equivalent to a 1.7% stake—for ₹1,857 crore at an average price of ₹630 per share. Buyers in that deal included the National Pension System, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, and WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund. The pattern of selling has been consistent across other major backers as well.
On September 21, Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, trimmed its holding by selling approximately 3.6 crore shares worth ₹2,468 crore at ₹688 per share. Prior to that, on August 24, SoftBank Vision Fund II divested 4.5 crore shares, a 2.59% stake, for ₹2,887.9 crore at ₹641.75 per share, with Societe Generale among the buyers. These consecutive block trades suggest a broader repricing or rebalancing activity among global institutional investors in the stock.
Despite the selling pressure, Lenskart’s fundamentals have shown strong momentum. For the first quarter, the company reported a surge in consolidated net profit to ₹222 crore, a sharp jump from ₹60 crore in the same period last year. Revenue rose 43.3% to ₹2,714.2 crore from ₹1,894.5 crore. Shares closed 3.49% higher on Friday, October 9, and have gained 54.3% year-to-date. Traders will be watching the next few weeks closely to see if the block deal’s floor price of ₹640 acts as a support level or if the stock continues its upward trajectory despite institutional trims.