Fidelity may lead Meesho's USD 550-600 Million financing round taking valuation up to USD 5 Billion
Meesho, a social commerce startup is concluding a $550-600 million financing round likely led by US asset manager Fidelity, which will be more than double the company’s valuation from its previous round to $5 billion.
“While Fidelity is expected to plough in more than $100 million, B Capital and other new investors will cough up $50-100 million each,” a person familiar with the deal talks said.
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital and other investors may join Fidelity in the funding round, sources privy to the matter said. Existing backers Japan’s SoftBank, prosus Ventures and others will also participate in the funding round, another person familiar with the developments said.
Meesho was founded in 2015 by Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey in Bengaluru. It is the dominant player in India’s expanding social commerce space, which allows small businesses, to sell products on social media channels like Facebook and Whatsapp.
In April, Meesho was valued at $2.1 billion when it raised $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund.
Meesho has expanded to doing grocery through its brand Framiso, including staples and fast-moving consumer goods, competing with dominant eCommerce firms like Flipkart and Amazon India.
“I think the frequency will come from our grocery business. And the reason it is exciting to us is that lot of people in India, especially in the lower-income segments, spend most of their money on groceries,” said Aatrey.
Meesho will compete with eCommerce majors Amazon and Flipkart as it plans to target a wider base of sellers beyond its resellers base. The sector continues to grow assisted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consultancy firm Bain & Co, in partnership with Flipkart, said in a recent report that online commerce would grow over 30 per cent to around $50 billion by the end of the ongoing financial year. Wealth management firm Bernstein said in a report that Flipkart and its fashion portal Myntra had clocked a GMV of $12.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively, last year.
“While Fidelity is expected to plough in more than $100 million, B Capital and other new investors will cough up $50-100 million each,” a person familiar with the deal talks said.
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital and other investors may join Fidelity in the funding round, sources privy to the matter said. Existing backers Japan’s SoftBank, prosus Ventures and others will also participate in the funding round, another person familiar with the developments said.
Meesho was founded in 2015 by Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey in Bengaluru. It is the dominant player in India’s expanding social commerce space, which allows small businesses, to sell products on social media channels like Facebook and Whatsapp.
In April, Meesho was valued at $2.1 billion when it raised $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund.
Meesho has expanded to doing grocery through its brand Framiso, including staples and fast-moving consumer goods, competing with dominant eCommerce firms like Flipkart and Amazon India.
“I think the frequency will come from our grocery business. And the reason it is exciting to us is that lot of people in India, especially in the lower-income segments, spend most of their money on groceries,” said Aatrey.
Meesho will compete with eCommerce majors Amazon and Flipkart as it plans to target a wider base of sellers beyond its resellers base. The sector continues to grow assisted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consultancy firm Bain & Co, in partnership with Flipkart, said in a recent report that online commerce would grow over 30 per cent to around $50 billion by the end of the ongoing financial year. Wealth management firm Bernstein said in a report that Flipkart and its fashion portal Myntra had clocked a GMV of $12.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively, last year.
