WestBridge Capital, an investment firm, has acquired a stake in Meesho, an ecommerce unicorn, in a secondary transaction. Venture Highway, an early backer of Meesho, sold a portion of its stake and earned an impressive return of over 50 times its initial investment.
Venture Highway has been a long-time investor in Meesho, supporting the company since its seed round over eight years ago. Despite the stake sale, Venture Highway still retains a significant portion of its total stake in the unicorn.
Founded in 2015, Venture Highway has a strong portfolio, with investments in over 60 companies across its funds. Some notable companies in its portfolio include Moglix, Sharechat, BetterPlace, Chalo and Ivy Homes. As for Meesho, it has garnered support from investors such as SoftBank, Peak XV, Fidelity Investments, Prosus & Naspers and Meta.
A couple of weeks back, WestBridge Capital was reportedly seeking to acquire a stake in Meesho at a discounted valuation compared to its previous value. WestBridge Capital’s portfolio features other successful startups like DealShare, Adda247 and Rapido.
Meesho, founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, has been making waves in the ecommerce space. The company recently reached profitability as of July 2023, a significant achievement amidst the current focus on profitability in the startup ecosystem.
Fidelity Investments, one of Meesho’s investors, increased the valuation of its holding in the company to USD 43.24 million as of 31 July. In 2021, Fidelity Investments injected around USD 42 million into Meesho during its USD 570 million funding round, valuing the company at around USD 4.9 billion.
While Meesho reported a net loss of Rs 3,247.8 crore in FY22, representing a 550 per cent increase compared to the previous year, the company’s profitability milestone indicates positive growth and potential for further success.
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