Peyush Bansal nears billionaire status with Lenskart IPO

PEYUSH BANSAL FOUNDED eyewear-maker Lenskart Solutions more than 15 years ago with partners he met on LinkedIn and grew it into a multi-billion dollar business. Now the 41-year-old entrepreneur is in line for a windfall.

- ANTO ANTONY & ADVAIT PALEPU

Lenskart is planning to list as early as next month in Mumbai, targeting a stock debut that would value the company at $9 billion, based on the IPO size according to people familiar with the matter, and calculations from the prospectus.

That would give the entrepreneur a stake close to $800 million after selling a small portion of his shares in the IPO according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His stock could cross $1 billion if Lenskart shares pop about 25% on debut.

Bansal's path to a public offering shows how investor confidence is returning for some founder-led ventures after a period where the country's leading startups struggled to survive and funding dried up. Lenskart has carved out a niche with robotic production in India using machines imported from Germany to produce its glasses, along with a website that makes it easy for customers to order and test their purchases remotely.