New Delhi: As eyewear company Lenskart takes its first step towards an IPO, an interesting detail in its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) before going public, is the missing graduation degree and marksheet of co-founder and promoter Sumeet Kapahi.
The $1.25 billion-valued company, under the ‘risk factors’ section of DRHP, mentions that its global head of sourcing, Sumeet Kapahi, is not able to trace his B.Com (Hons) degree and marksheet from the University of Delhi. It adds that Kapahi has written multiple emails to the university requesting a copy of the documents but hasn’t got any response so far.
“While he has written multiple emails, and a letter to the concerned university requesting for a copy of his degree certificate, and has applied for the copies of the marksheets on the portal of the university as well, a response from the university is awaited. There is no assurance that the university will respond to such emails and letter in a timely manner, or at all,” the document states.
“Accordingly, reliance has been placed on certificates furnished by him to us and the BRLMs (Book Running Lead Managers) to disclose details of his educational qualifications in this DRHP. Further, there can be no assurances that he will be able to trace the relevant documents pertaining to his educational qualifications in future or at all,” it adds.
A DRHP provides key information about the firm going for an IPO, such as its financials, business activities, and possible risks, but it omits information on the precise number of shares being issued or the final issue price.
ThePrint reached University of Delhi through calls to confirm the details of the matter, but is yet to get a response. This report will be updated if a response is received.
Based on Lenskart’s official site, Kapahi is a co-founder of the eyewear company along with Peyush Bansal, Amit Choudhary, Neha Bansal, and Ramneek Khurana. He joined as the third collaborator alongside Peyush and Choudhary in 2011. Prior to Lenskart, Kapahi worked with international eyewear firms such as Ray-Ban Sun Optics India.
As global head of sourcing, Kapahi handles formulation and execution of procurement plans, oversees vendor partnerships, and leads initiatives to enhance operational efficiency through cost reductions.
According to the DRHP, he received total compensation of Rs 2.246 crore for the financial year 2024-25. The amount includes incentives worth Rs 50 lakh, which are set to be paid out in FY26.
The Lenskart IPO includes an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 132,288,941 equity shares and a new issue of equity shares worth up to Rs 2,150 crore.
Kapahi intends to sell up to 28,68,457 equity shares, each with a face value of Rs 2. Other participating promoters in the sale include Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, and Amit Choudhary. Additionally, investors such as SVF II Lightbulb (Cayman), Schroders Capital Private Equity Asia Mauritius, PI Opportunities Fund – II, Macritchie Investments, Kedaara Capital Fund II, and Alpha Wave Ventures are also planning to divest their holdings through the OFS.
The IPO proceeds will be used to support several general corporate objectives, improve brand marketing, invest in technology and cloud infrastructure, create new company-owned, company-operated stores in India, and investigate possible acquisitions.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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