New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- SoftBank, the Japanese investment giant that makes technology-focused bets and has backed companies such as Meesho, Unacademy and Ola Electric in India through its Vision Fund, has harvested another $300 million from a seven-year-old bet on a domestic portfolio company.
The investor, which has made more liquidity moves in India rather than new investments in recent years, has sold another chunk of its stake in Lenskart Solutions Ltd in what is its fifth partial exit move from the eyewear retailer.
In the latest sale, it sold 45 million shares of Mumbai-listed Lenskart via SoftBank Vision Fund II via an open market transaction on Monday, stock-exchange data shows. At the price of Rs 641.75 apiece, it has encashed Rs 2,888 crore ($300 million) in the tranche.
This reflects a 2.6% stake in Lenskart-about a quarter of SoftBank's holding-and reduces its stake to around 7.2%.
The partial exit comes less than three months after SoftBank offloaded a 3.25% stake in early June this year. At the time, it had sold 56.5 million shares for Rs 2,873 crore (about $300 million). Lenskart's shares have jumped 26% since early June, helping SoftBank pocket a similar amount by selling a smaller stake.
SoftBank had invested in Lenskart in December 2019. It put in Rs 1,974 crore ($275 million then) to acquire a nearly 20% stake through a mix of primary capital infusion and secondary share purchases.
Since then, the firm has monetized its stake in multiple tranches. In 2023, it sold shares worth Rs 515 crore to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the UAE's largest sovereign wealth fund. Just ahead of Lenskart's initial public offering last year, it sold some shares at a deep discount to founder Peyush Bansal for Rs 50 crore.
Lenskart raised Rs 2,150 crore through a fresh issue of shares in November 2025 during its IPO. Meanwhile, its promoters and 13 investors sold nearly 12.75 million shares. SoftBank, which held an about 15% stake in the company at the time, cut its stake by 1.51% points. It sold 25.5 million shares and pocketed Rs 1,026 crore during the IPO.
In the latest tranche, SoftBank Vision Fund II has generated an internal rate of return (IRR) of 40% in rupee terms and clocked an 9x multiple on its invested capital, according to VCCircle's estimates. This is higher than the 20-30% IRR that private equity and venture capital investors typically chase on a fund level in local currency. Its returns are aided by gains in Lenskart's share price, which is up over 60% since listing.
SoftBank's IRR in dollar terms would be lower because of the rupee's depreciation over the years but would still be almost double the 15% benchmark.
Overall, SoftBank has harvested Rs 7,352 crore (about $785 million at the prevailing forex rates) on its investment so far, clocking an MOIC of about 10x. Its remaining stake is worth about Rs 8,305 crore at current share prices, potentially making Lenskart a $1.6-billion outcome for SoftBank.
In addition to Lenskart, SoftBank has also sold part of its stake in a few other Indian companies over the past year. These include logistics company Delhivery Ltd and Ola Electric.
Apart from SoftBank, at least three other investors that participated in secondary deals recently have generated high returns from Lenskart. In May, KKR, which was among the top PE firms in terms of exits in India last year, fully exited its five-year old bet in Lenskart beating benchmark returns. TR Capital, a secondaries specialist, clocked 12x MOIC on its investment in the company, VCCircle reported previously. Singapore state investment firm Temasek pulled out almost $200 million from Lenskart in July.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.