Meesho’s IPO Debut Sees Strong Market Response

New updates have been reported about Meesho (PC:MEESH)

Meesho, the Indian e-commerce platform known for its focus on small merchants and cost-conscious consumers, experienced a robust debut on the public market. Its shares surged by up to 46% from the initial issue price, opening at ₹162.50 compared to the issue price of ₹111, and peaking at ₹171.84. This performance elevated Meesho’s market capitalization to approximately ₹780 billion ($8.69 billion), following a successful IPO that raised $606 million. The company, which was valued at around $5 billion in a 2021 private funding round, has attracted significant investor interest, with early backers like Elevation Capital and Peak XV Partners selling their stakes during the IPO, while major investors such as SoftBank and Prosus retained their shares.

Founded in 2015, Meesho initially operated as a social-commerce platform on WhatsApp, targeting first-time online shoppers. It has since grown to compete with giants like Amazon and Flipkart by offering a low-cost marketplace model that appeals to smaller towns in India. Over the past year, Meesho reported 234.2 million transacting users and 706,471 annual sellers. Despite its growth, the company reported a widening loss of ₹4.33 billion ($48.2 million) for the six months ending September 30, compared to a loss of ₹0.24 billion ($2.7 million) the previous year. Revenue increased to ₹55.78 billion ($620.3 million) from ₹43.11 billion ($479.6 million) year-over-year. Meesho’s IPO is part of a broader trend of Indian startups going public, with companies like Pine Labs and Groww recently listing and others like Flipkart and Oyo preparing for future IPOs.