Meesho converts to public entity ahead of $1 billion IPO

Vidit-Aatrey, CEO amd co-founder, Meesho.

E-commerce startup Meesho has changed its name from ‘Meesho Private Limited’ to ‘Meesho Limited’ to become a public company ahead of a planned $1 billion (Rs 8,500 crore) initial public offering (IPO) later this year.

The company’s board approved the name change in their extraordinary general meeting held earlier this month. Such a move is typical with IPO-bound companies, including Swiggy in the past and Lenskart more recently.

The move comes weeks after Moneycontrol exclusively reported that Meesho is gearing up to raise $1 billion through an IPO at a valuation of $10 billion, significantly higher than its previous valuation of $4 billion.

IPO details

While Meesho has been inching closer towards becoming a public company, it is still awaiting a final clearance for the flip back of its base from Delaware to India. Without that, it cannot proceed towards becoming a listed company.

If Meesho lists on the bourses this year, it would have outpaced arch rival Walmart-owned Flipkart, an old and dominant player in the space. Flipkart, started in 2007, is preparing for a market debut, too, and waiting for its parent, the US retail giant, to decide on a timeline for its IPO.

Meesho has already picked Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citi as advisers for its IPO. The company was founded in 2015 by IIT-Delhi alumni Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal and has raised over $1.3 billion in capital from Tiger Global, SoftBank, Elevation Capital and several others.