Lightspeed exits PhysicsWallah in Rs 550 cr share sale

Bengaluru: Venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners has exited its entire 1.6% stake in PhysicsWallah, selling shares worth nearly Rs 550 crore on Wednesday, less than two years after backing the edtech company.NSE data showed that Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II sold 4.6 crore shares at a weighted average price of Rs 117.7 apiece. The number of shares sold matched the fund’s holding at the end of the June quarter.ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund was the biggest buyer, purchasing 2.2 crore shares, or about 0.8% of PhysicsWallah, for Rs 258 crore. The remaining shares were picked up by several institutional investors, including funds linked to Goldman Sachs, Tata AIA Life Insurance, Morgan Stanley Asia, Citigroup, Ghisallo and Societe Generale.The transaction generated gross proceeds of Rs 549.7 crore for Lightspeed. PhysicsWallah’s IPO documents put the fund’s adjusted acquisition cost at Rs 89.8 per share, after accounting for the conversion of its preference shares and a subsequent bonus issue.This translates into an investment cost of about Rs 419.6 crore and a gross gain of roughly Rs 130 crore, or 31%, before transaction costs and taxes.Lightspeed invested in PhysicsWallah in October 2024 as part of a $210-million funding round led by Hornbill Capital. The round, which also saw participation from existing investors GSV Ventures and WestBridge Capital, valued PhysicsWallah at $2.8 billion.The fund stayed invested through PhysicsWallah’s Rs 3,480-crore initial public offering in November 2025. The IPO comprised a Rs 3,100-crore fresh issue and a Rs 380-crore offer for sale by co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari.Wednesday’s sale was executed at about a 3% discount to the stock’s previous close of Rs 121.35, but at an 8% premium to its IPO issue price of Rs 109. PhysicsWallah shares closed 3.9% higher at Rs 126 on the NSE.For the June quarter, PhysicsWallah’s consolidated total income rose 29% to Rs 1,162.8 crore, while its loss narrowed to Rs 88.3 crore from Rs 127 crore a year earlier.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.