Meesho files DRHP confidentially to raise Rs 4,250 crore in primary capital

Vidit Aatrey, co-founder and CEO (L) and Sanjeev Barnwal co-founder and CTO (R), Meesho

Meesho, the low cost e-commerce platform, has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) via the confidential route available with the capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to raise Rs 4,250 crore in primary capital through an IPO, sources told Moneycontrol.

With this step, Meesho has moved another step closer to a public market listing and also joins a growing list of new-age companies that are headed to Dalal Street. In the past two weeks alone, Pine Labs, Wakefit, Curefoods, Shadowfax have all filed their DRHPs to raise a total of about Rs 6,000 crore in primary capital, Moneycontrol had reported earlier. The amount does not include the capital raised through the offer-for-sale (OFS) component.

Meesho, which is looking to list around September-October this year, will likely raise up to Rs 8,500 crore ($1 billion) in its IPO, in a mix of primary capital and secondary share sales, Moneycontrol had reported earlier.

Meesho did not reply to Moneycontrol's queries.

In the run up to its IPO, Meesho also recast its board, converted into a public entity and also completed its flip back to India, Moneycontrol had exclusively reported.

The Bengaluru-based company has chosen the confidential route as it looks to protect sensitive information from rivals such as Flipkart and Amazon. The move, also followed by Shadowfax, Groww and others, also allows Meesho to reassess its IPO timelines if market conditions turn.