SoftBank stays invested as Meesho gears up for $600M IPO
What's the story
Meesho, India's leading e-commerce platform, will launch its initial public offering (IPO) on December 3. The company's IPO features only small sell-downs from early investors, with major holders like SoftBank and Prosus opting not to sell. This signals strong confidence in India's fast-growing online retail market even as tech investors elsewhere cash out at listings.
Fundraising details
Meesho's valuation to be around ₹500B post-IPO
Meesho has set a price band of ₹105-111 per share and is expected to raise around $606 million. The company will be issuing new shares worth ₹42.5 billion and a small portion through secondary sales. After the issue, Meesho's valuation is likely to be around ₹501 billion (approximately $5.6 billion). The last time the company was valued at this level was in 2021 when it raised about $570 million from investors at a post-money valuation of about $5 billion.
Investor participation
IPO to include share sales by early investors
Meesho's IPO will also see some of its early investors selling shares. Elevation Capital is offloading a little over 4% of its stake, while Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) is selling about 3%. Y Combinator is also trimming its stake by about 14%. However, larger backers are not selling any shares in this round.
Business model
Financial performance and market position
Founded in 2015, Meesho started as a social commerce platform for first-time online shoppers via WhatsApp. It has since grown into a full-fledged marketplace with a low-cost model catering to India's price-sensitive consumers and small merchants. The Bengaluru-based company primarily earns from logistics fees, advertising, and other services while charging commissions on products sold through its separate Meesho Mall channel.
Financials
Revenue growth and user base
Meesho reported an operational revenue of ₹55.78 billion for the six months ending September 30, up from ₹43.11 billion a year earlier. Its net merchandise value also grew by 44% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹191.94 billion. In the last 12 months, Meesho had 234 million transacting users and over seven lakh annual transacting sellers on its platform.