Meesho completes reverse flip, merges US entity with Indian

Homegrown e-commerce platform Meesho concludes its reverse flip to India after receiving final National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval last week.

As per its recent filing with the Registrar of Companies, Meesho’s board has approved the merger of its US-based entity, Meesho Inc., with its Indian arm. As part of the process, shares of the Indian entity have been allotted to the US investors, making Meesho a fully Indian entity.

As per media reports, the company is expected to pay $280-$300 million tax in the US to relocate its domicile.

The Softbank-backed company is likely to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a $1 billion initial public offer (IPO).

The e-commerce giant has shortlisted Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan and Citi Bank as its bankers.

According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Meesho has raised over $1 billion in funding to date from investors including Softbank, Prosus, Fidelity Investments, Peak XV and others.

The company sustained its growth momentum, posting a 33% year-on-year increase in revenue to Rs 7,615 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2024. It also narrowed its adjusted losses by 97% to Rs 53 crore in FY24.

With this reverse flip, the company joins the ranks of Razorpay, Groww, Zepto, Dream11, and PhonePe, all of which have shifted their domiciles back to India.  Razorpay paid $150 million while PhonePe and Groww paid Rs 8,000 crore ($1 billion then) and Rs 1,340 crore ($157 million) in taxes, respectively, to complete the process. Meesho’s rival Flipkart, with an estimated valuation of $36 billion, is also working on relocating its domicile from Singapore to India.