Japanese technology investor SoftBank has trimmed its stake in eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions, selling a 1.56 per cent holding for ₹1,896 crore through open market transactions, according to block deal data on the BSE.
SoftBank, through its affiliate SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman) Ltd, offloaded 2.72 crore shares in 10 tranches at an average price of ₹697.15 apiece on Friday.
The combined deal transaction stood at ₹1,896.24 crore.
After the transaction, SoftBank’s stake in Gurugram-based Lenskart fell to 5.71 per cent from 7.27 per cent.
A clutch of domestic and foreign institutional investors picked up an equal number of shares at the same price. US-based Goldman Sachs emerged as the largest buyer, acquiring 91.84 lakh shares worth over ₹640 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund and HDFC Life Insurance Company were the domestic buyers who also picked up shares of Lenskart.
Foreign buyers included Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, William Blair Investment Management, Public School Teachers’ Pension & Retirement Fund of Chicago, Texas Municipal Retirement System and Florida Retirement System, among others.
Lenskart Solutions shares rose 1 per cent to end at ₹724.70 apiece on the BSE.
The latest stake sale follows a series of transactions by existing investors in the eyewear retailer.
In September, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority pared a 2.01 per cent stake in Lenskart, selling shares worth ₹2,390 crore. Earlier in June, SoftBank had divested a 3.25 per cent stake in the company for ₹2,873 crore.
In a separate transaction on the NSE, Nirma Ltd, one of the promoters of Alivus Life Sciences (formerly Glenmark Life Sciences), sold 28.46 lakh equity shares, representing a 2.32 per cent stake, for ₹390 crore through a block deal.
The shares were offloaded at an average price of ₹1,370 apiece on Friday.
Among the buyers were Helios Mutual Fund, promoted by investor Samir Arora, Bandhan Mutual Fund, Param Capital, Subhkam Ventures I Pvt Ltd and Sanshi Fund-I, which collectively acquired an equal number of shares at the same price.
Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global was the only foreign institutional investor to participate in the purchase, according to the data.
Shares of Alivus Life Sciences fell nearly 2 per cent to settle at ₹1,471.90 apiece on the NSE.