After boAt and Shiprocket, Meesho takes confidential pre-filing route to IPO; looks to raise ₹4,250 crore via fresh issue

Home-grown e-commerce player Meesho has filed a confidential draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi, and is reportedly looking to raise around ₹4,250 crore via fresh issue. The public issue is expected to be a combination of a fresh equity issue and a partial stake sale by existing investors via the offer for sale (OFS) route.

In recent months, a growing number of new-age companies—particularly startups and tech-driven firms—have opted for the confidential IPO filing route, leveraging it for both strategic flexibility and regulatory advantage. This approach allows companies to fine-tune their listing plans while keeping sensitive business information under wraps during the early stages of the process. Notable names that have chosen this path include boAt’s parent Imagine Marketing; logistics firm Shiprocket; online investment platform Groww; logistics firm Shadowfax Technologies; edtech unicorn Physicswallah; financial and investment services firm Tata Capital; and several others.

In March this year, Fortune India had reported that Meesho was planning to tap the IPO market, looking to raise around $1 billion at a market valuation of $10 billion. The SoftBank-backed e-commerce firm has reportedly hired Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, and Citi as advisors for its proposed IPO.

Recently, the e-commerce unicorn co-founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal had received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to relocate its corporate base from the U.S. to India, a key requirement for it to list its shares within the country.

In terms of financial performance, Meesho achieved significant milestones in FY24, achieving profitability and positive free cash flow that year. Positive free cash flow indicates a firm’s ability to generate sufficient cash after covering its operating expenses and capex.

Meesho posted operating cash flow of ₹232 crore for FY24, while revenue from operations grew by 33% to ₹7,615 crore, driven by 36% YoY growth in orders delivered as well as repeat customers transacted on the platform. The company reported adjusted loss after tax of ₹53 crore, which narrowed from ₹1,569 crore in FY23, excluding employee share-based compensation expense.

Meesho had 145 million unique annual transacting users (ATUs) in FY24. The company claimed to be the most downloaded shopping app overall in India, and also crossed the overall 500 million instal mark during the last fiscal.

Calendar year 2024 was a blockbuster one for new-age tech companies, with startups like Swiggy, Go Digit, TBO Tek, Awfis, Ola Electric, FirstCry, ixigo, and Unicommerce listing on the stock exchanges. Electric two-wheeler startup Ather Energy also made its debut on the domestic bourses.

Recently, Physicswallah filed its DRHP with the capital markets regulator through the confidential route, looking to raise ₹4,600 crore. Audio, wearables and accessories brand boAt had also filed confidential papers with Sebi, reportedly looking to raise around ₹2,000 crore, while Billionbrains Garage Ventures—online stock broking firm Groww's parent company—also submitted its DRHP with Sebi. Shiprocket also filed its confidential papers to raise ₹2,000-2,500 crore by listing its shares on the BSE and the NSE.