SoftBank Offloads Rs 1,896 Crore Lenskart Stake

SoftBank Group, through its affiliate SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman), sold a 1.56 percent stake in eyewear retailer LENSKART Solutions on November 6, offloading 2.72 crore shares worth Rs 1,896.2 crore at Rs 697.15 apiece. The transaction represented part of SoftBank’s 7.27 percent holding in the company.A total of 13 domestic and global institutional investors absorbed the entire block. Goldman Sachs led the buying with 91.84 lakh shares worth Rs 640.26 crore, followed by Societe Generale ODI with 89.44 lakh shares valued at Rs 623.53 crore. Other participants included Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Norges Bank, UTI AMC, William Blair Investment Management, HDFC Life and several overseas pension funds. Lenskart shares closed 0.89 percent higher at Rs ***** Nirma, the promoter of Alivus Life Sciences (formerly Glenmark Life Sciences), sold a 2.31 percent stake, or 28.46 lakh shares, for Rs 389.94 crore at Rs 1,370 per share. Bandhan Mutual Fund was the largest buyer, picking up 8.55 lakh shares worth Rs 117.26 crore, while Param Capital, owned by investor Mukul Agrawal, acquired 7.29 lakh shares. Nirma also sold an additional 8.33 lakh shares in the open market for Rs 118.57 crore. Alivus shares ended 1.11 percent lower at Rs 1,480.60 amid elevated volumes.