WestBridge Capital Acquires Stake In Meesho Through A Secondary Transaction

Investment firm WestBridge Capital has acquired a stake in ecommerce unicorn Meesho in a secondary transaction from its early and long-term backer Venture Highway.

Venture Highway sold a part of its stake in the ecommerce startup to earn over 50X return, the early-stage venture fund said in a statement.

The firm first invested in Meesho in its seed round over eight years ago. Since then, the seed-stage investment firm continued to invest in the company in subsequent rounds.

Venture Highway said it continues to hold a significant part of its total stake in the unicorn even after the secondary stake sale. 

“We have closely witnessed how the company disrupted and transformed India’s online ecommerce landscape with its unparalleled vision. We continue to remain excited for the company’s success, especially, on its mission to democratise internet commerce for everyone,” said Neeraj Arora, founding partner at Venture Highway.

Venture Highway, founded in 2015, has made over 60 investments across its funds and is currently investing out of its fund III. It counts the likes of Moglix, Sharechat, BetterPlace, Chalo, and Ivy Homes in its portfolio.

As per a report last month, WestBridge Capital was looking to purchase a stake in Meesho at a discount of over 20% to 25% to its previous valuation. The investment firm’s portfolio includes startups like DealShare, Adda247, and Rapido.

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho is backed by other marquee investors such as SoftBank, Peak XV, Fidelity Investments, Prosus & Naspers, and Meta. 

“We are very impressed by Meesho’s strong focus on providing superior value to a large base of Indian consumers. This has resulted in them making rapid strides in the fast-growing Indian ecommerce market,” said Sandeep Singhal, managing partner and cofounder at WestBridge Capital.

Fidelity Investments, one of Meesho’s investors, recently increased the valuation of its holding in the company to $43.24 Mn as of July 31. In 2021, the investment firm infused about $42 Mn in Meesho’s $570 Mn funding round, valuing the startup at around $4.9 Bn.

At a time when tech startups are aggressively focusing on profitability, Meesho recently claimed to have turned profitable as of July 2023. 

The company reported a net loss of INR 3,247.8 in FY22, which was a 550% jump year-on-year (YoY). 

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