WestBridge Capital is in advanced stages of talks to buy Meesho shares on the secondary market, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the high-profile venture firm looks to expand its bet on e-commerce.
The investment firm, with a two-decade track record of focusing on startups in India and Southeast Asia, is collaborating with multiple Meesho investors, including Venture Highway, to buy its stake in the social commerce startup, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and current terms value the Indian startup at a discount of more than 20 to 25% to the previous valuation, one of the people said.
Meesho declined to comment. Venture Highway and WestBridge Capital did not respond to requests for comment.
Meesho, which counts Meta, YC, Prosus, Elevation and Peak private at reduced prices. prices. Fidelity, which co-led Meesho’s latest round, continues to value Meesho at more than $4.5 billion, according to the US asset manager’s monthly disclosures.
Venture Highway originally backed Meesho eight years ago, when it invested around $100,000 that valued the startup at around $1 million. The company has been a long-time supporter of Meesho, investing in almost every subsequent round.
WestBridge’s interest in Meesho comes after the startup dramatically improved its financials in recent quarters. Meesho said last month that it was profitable at the consolidated PAT level in the month of July. Meesho, which has created a niche through a variety of diverse, unbranded and competitively priced products, had a GMV of $4.5 billion in calendar year 2022.
“Meesho has a leadership position in multiple fashion and lifestyle categories,” Jefferies wrote in a note to clients earlier this year. “For the first few years, Meesho primarily focused on apparel, but over time it diversified into other lifestyle categories as it evolved into a truly horizontal market. Today, almost half of its GMV comes from non-apparel categories.”
WestBridge is also an investor in DealShare, a startup that initially leveraged social platforms for commerce. You are currently dealing with some existential concerns about your business. The deal, if it materializes, would also be notable because WestBridge tends to invest in startups in its Series BD rounds, typically entering at a valuation under $250 million.
