Venture Highway, an early investor in Meesho, has successfully sold a portion of its stake in the ecommerce startup to the India-focused investment fund WestBridge Capital. This move signals strong investor interest in the Indian startup ecosystem, even amidst the ongoing funding challenges.
While the exact size of the stake sale and the proceeds remain undisclosed, Venture Highway revealed that it achieved over 50 times returns on its initial investment in Meesho from its first “vintage” fund.
As reported earlier, WestBridge Capital had been eyeing a roughly 2% stake in Meesho at a valuation of $3 billion through a secondary transaction. Prior to this sale, Venture Highway held about 3% of Meesho.
Neeraj Arora, Founding Partner at Venture Highway, expressed their belief in Meesho’s culture and vision, highlighting the company’s transformative impact on India’s e-commerce landscape. Venture Highway initially invested in Meesho in 2015 and has been an integral part of its journey.
This development follows closely after Venture Highway’s Co-founder Samir Sood stepped down as a partner of the firm and the appointment of Priya Mohan as the Managing Partner. Meanwhile, WestBridge Capital continues to actively fund technology startups, including prominent companies like Freshworks, Dealshare, PhysicsWallah, and Lead.
Meesho, backed by SoftBank, last achieved a valuation of nearly $5 billion in 2021 after a funding round of $570 million led by US-based Fidelity and B Capital. Typically, secondary transactions are valued at a discount compared to the previous primary valuation. In August, Meesho announced a consolidated profit after-tax for July without disclosing specific figures. The company has been focusing on reducing cash burn and adjusting growth expectations, currently operating at an annualized revenue run-rate of approximately $750 million.
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This transaction takes place in a climate where significant, late-stage deals remain relatively rare in the Indian startup sector. However, secondary transactions between investors are gaining traction, with companies like FirstCry and Lenskart also recently closing secondary sales of shares.
