Meesho’s Big Homecoming: E-commerce Giant Completes Reverse Flip to India, Eyes IPO

Meesho, India's fastest-growing e-commerce platform, has officially closed its closely watched "reverse flip," reversing its corporate headquarters back to India from the US. The strategic move, finalized after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved it on May 27, is a milestone for the SoftBank-backed company as it aligns its structure with its majority Indian business and prepares for a public listing in India.

 

Key Highlights

Reverse Flip Complete: Meesho board approved the share allotment and merger to the investors of the US company, and Meesho became an entirely Indian company.

 

NCLT Approval: It had received the NCLT's approval in late May to demerge its Indian business from its US parent and merge with the Indian company.

 

Tax Implications: Meesho would have to bear a tax burden of around $280–300 million in the US as a part of this shift.

 

IPO Plans: The company plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for listing on Indian exchanges in the next 2–3 weeks.

 

Funding and Valuation: Meesho had raised its prior $550 million funding round this year from new investors and valued the company at approximately $3.9–4 billion.

 

Growth Metrics: Meesho had 187 million unique annual transacting users (26% YoY growth) and had processed 1.3 billion orders in nine months—a 34% YoY growth—up to December 2024.

 

Market Context: Meesho is one of an increasing number of high-profile startups like Groww, Razorpay, Zepto, and PhonePe that have been based in India prior to public listings.

 

IPO Advisers: Kotak Mahindra Capital, Citi, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley have been appointed as merchant bankers for the upcoming IPO.

 

"Meesho board sat late on Sunday.and cleared the merger and share allotment to US entity's investors. It is now a fully Indian company," said a person familiar with the matter.

 

This move not only paves the way for Meesho's listing but is also a corollary to a larger trend among Indian startups returning home to tap domestic capital markets and correlate with their operating footprint.

 

Source: Economic Times Tech, ET CFO