Fidelity Investments Cuts Meesho Valuation To $4.4 Bn

SUMMARY

Fidelity Investments has marked down the fair value of ecommerce unicorn Meesho by 9.7%

Fidelity Investments holds stakes in the ecommerce unicorn through multiple funds

It has pegged the fair value of its 32,220 shares in the ecommerce startup at $2.29 Mn

The Indian unicorns continue to see valuation markdown as Fidelity Investments has marked down the fair value of ecommerce unicorn Meesho by 9.7%.

Fidelity Investments has backed the Bengaluru-based unicorn through multiple funds.

As per the latest filings of these funds, such as Variable Insurance Products Fund III and IV, and Fidelity Central Investments Portfolio LLC, the asset management company slashed cut the fair value of Meesho by 9.7%.

It has pegged the fair value of its 32,220 shares in the ecommerce startup at $2.29 Mn. Meesho’s value stands at $4 Bn currently after the valuation cutdown.

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, the ecommerce giant has raised close to $1 Bn from the likes of Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, Prosus & Naspers, and Meta (then Facebook), among others.

It entered the unicorn club in 2021 after raising $300 Mn in a funding round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, with participation from Prosus Ventures, Facebook, and Shunwei Capital.

The development comes after Meesho saw its losses jump 6X in FY22. The ecommerce unicorn recorded a revenue of INR 3,359.4 Cr in FY22, a 300% increase from INR 838.6 Cr in FY21. Whereas its losses reached INR INR 3,247.8 Cr, reporting a 550% jump from INR 498.6 Cr in FY21.

Following which, it fired over 700 employees across three layoff cycles.

Meesho has been dragged into several controversies over the last year. An Ahmedabad-based seller sent a legal notice to the ecommerce platform Meesho for ‘unfair trade practice’ last month. As per the notice, most of the sellers’ order deliveries have been met with a return request citing reasons including damaged or wrong products.

Previously too, Meesho had faced similar seller discontent over its return policy. In January, sellers on the ecommerce platform protested over a change in the return policy of the platform.

The valuation markdown of Meesho comes just a day after The Private Shares Fund cutting the fair value of edtech unicorn Eruditus by 8.56% in the March quarter.

US-based Baron Capital also cut Swiggy’s fair value to $6.5 Bn as of March 31, 2023, second time in the last few months.

Indian unicorns — BYJU’S, Pharmeasy, Ola, PineLabs have also faced valuation cutdown over the past few months.