E-commerce platform Meesho is set to raise $300 million from a group of investors, which includes Tiger Global and SoftBank, according to industry sources
The funding round values Meesho at $3.9 billion, which is 20% lower than $4.9 billion it commanded during its previous fund-raise in 2021. The reduction in value comes after Fidelity cut Meesho’s valuation to around $3.5 billion in January.
The development assumes significance as Tiger Global and SoftBank have not invested in India for around 18 months now. Further, once through, the funding round will be among the very few large rounds that have materialized in the last one year.
Tiger is set to become a new investor in Meesho, but Peak XV is already a supporter, having made its initial investment in the e-commerce company back in 2018.
The remaining $150 million will come from Think Ventures in the UK, Mars Growth Capital in Singapore, and SoftBank. Mars and Think will be backing Meesho for the first time, while SoftBank, an existing investor, will continue to contribute more money to maintain its position in the business.
A minor amount of secondaries will be included in the financing round to help buy out early investors, but primary capital will make up the majority of the investment. According to Tracxn statistics, some of Meesho's early sponsors include Venture Highway, Meta, and Y Combinator.
Meesho's fundraising effort coincides with competitor Flipkart's $600 million acquisition from parent company Walmart as a portion of a bigger $1 billion deal. Amazon invested a total of $100 million in its India division last month. CFO Dhiresh Bansal states that Meesho has been profitable since July 2023, when it began reporting a monthly profit of Rs 4-5 crore.
