Meesho Co-Founders Exercise ESOP Shares Valued at Rs 1,023 Crore Ahead of IPO

Meesho co‑founders Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Kumar have exercised equity shares under the company's 2024 ESOP plan as it prepares for its first public offering, Entrackr reported. Meesho's regulatory filings indicate that on March 31 the board of directors approved the allotment of 20,65,211 equity shares at a face value of Rs 1 apiece to Aatrey, and 6,59,323 equity shares to Barnwal.

The co‑founders were granted stock options, which they exercised once the vesting period ended under Fashnear Technologies Private Limited's Employee Stock Option Plan, 2024 (ESOP 2024), converting them into equity shares. According to Entrackr, these exercised shares are valued at approximately Rs 1,023 crore (around $120 million).

Meesho confirmed in a statement that these shares are not additional but form part of the previously allocated ESOP pool. A business spokesperson further explained that the valuation mentioned in the email is erroneous, noting that these shares carry no extra value, they are simply existing ESOPs that the founders have chosen to exercise.

It should be noted that Meesho initiated its largest ESOP buyback plan to date last year, repurchasing shares worth Rs 200 crore (approximately $25 million), which benefited around 1,700 former and current employees. Prior to this, the e‑commerce startup had repurchased shares valued at $11.5 million through three separate buyback schemes.

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Meesho IPO

Meesho is set to go public later this year with plans to raise around $1 billion through an initial public offering (IPO). The company has appointed Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citi as its IPO advisers, and discussions are underway to potentially include JP Morgan in the syndicate.

In fiscal year 2023‑24, the SoftBank‑backed startup reduced its losses (excluding ESOP costs) to Rs 53 crore, a marked improvement from the previous fiscal year's net loss of Rs 1,569 crore. Revenue from operations increased by 33% in FY24, rising to Rs 7,615 crore from Rs 5,735 crore in FY23, driven by a boost in unique yearly transacting users and increased order frequency among existing customers.

In its annual report, the company claimed to be the first horizontal Indian e‑commerce firm to achieve profitability in fiscal 2024, generating a positive free cash flow of Rs 197 crore for the year.