Early investors and founders of value-focused e-commerce major Meesho are staring at windfall gains after the company set its price band at Rs 105–111 a share, valuing the platform at nearly Rs 50095.75 crore (based on basic outstanding shares) at the upper end.
On November 21, Moneycontrol was the first to report that value-focused e-commerce major Meesho, which competes with Walmart's Flipkart and Amazon, was targeting a post-money valuation of around $5.93 billion or Rs 52,500 crore (considering fully diluted shares ) for its proposed initial public offer.
The two co-founders, Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Kumar, who together hold over 18.5 percent stake in the company, are set to earn stellar returns from the listing.
Meesho’s Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Vidit Aatrey, who holds 47.25 crore shares representing an 11.1 percent stake, emerges as one of the biggest beneficiaries. Acquired at an average price of just Rs 0.06 a share, his holding is now valued at Rs 5245 crore at the top end of the price band—more than 1800 times the earlier value of roughly Rs 2.84 crore.
His fellow Co-founder, Whole-time Director and CTO Sanjeev Kumar, stands to gain just as handsomely. Kumar owns 31.57 crore shares or a 7.41 percent stake, purchased at a wafer-thin average of Rs 0.02 a share. With the new valuation, his stake is now worth Rs 3504 crore, a meteoric leap from about Rs 63 lakh earlier—an astonishing rise of nearly 5500 times.
Early institutional investors are riding the same wave. Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), which owns 57.95 crore shares amounting to a 13.6 percent stake, had entered Meesho at an average cost of Rs 3.04 a share. Its holding, valued earlier at Rs 177 crore, now balloons to Rs 6433 crore—marking an over 3500-fold surge.
Peak XV Partners, holding 48.12 crore shares or an 11.3 percent stake at an average acquisition price of Rs 4.29 a share, is also set for substantial gains. Its stake, earlier valued at Rs 207 crore, now stands at an impressive Rs 5342 crore, reflecting a multifold expansion of nearly 2500 percent.
The gains cascade across other early backers as well. YC Continuity Fund, which holds 5.2 crore shares or 1.22 percent of Meesho, entered at an average of Rs 1.02 a share. Its stake is now worth Rs 576 crore, a staggering jump from Rs 5.3 crore, marking more than a 10000-fold rise.
Venture Highway’s holding will climb to Rs 175 crore from Rs 73.5 crore, while Gemini Investments’ valuation will leap to Rs 493 crore from just Rs 8.3 crore before the price band revision.
Meesho’s initial public offering opens on December 3 and closes on December 5. Anchor investor participation will begin on December 6, setting the stage for one of the most closely watched listings of the year.
Interestingly, the company has sharply trimmed its offer for sale, reducing it by nearly 40 percent. Promoters and early investors will now sell 10.55 crore shares, a significant drop from the 17.57 crore shares initially planned. At the upper end of the price band, OFS proceeds fall to about Rs 1172 crore, down from Rs 1950 crore earlier, while the fresh issue component stays unchanged at Rs 4250 crore.
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