SoftBank sells 1.65% stake in Bengaluru-based Meesho for ₹1,885 crore

SoftBank Group has sold a 1.65 per cent stake in Meesho for ₹1,885 crore, further trimming its investments in India’s e-commerce sector.

SVF II Meerkat (DE) LLC, a SoftBank affiliate, offloaded 7.64 crore shares in the Bengaluru-based company, according to block deal data on the National Stock Exchange. The sale was executed on Friday at an average price of ₹246.75 a share, taking the deal value to ₹1,885.17 crore.

The affiliate’s holding in Meesho has fallen to 5.19 per cent from 6.84 per cent. Meesho shares rose 1.53 per cent to close at ₹257.99 on the NSE on Friday.

The sale found buyers among domestic and foreign institutions, with Societe Generale the largest. The Paris-based financial services firm picked up more than 1.47 crore shares, a 0.32 per cent stake, for ₹364.65 crore.

Domestic buyers included mutual funds managed by Motilal Oswal, HDFC, Edelweiss and Aditya Birla Sun Life, along with Bajaj Life Insurance. Overseas participants included Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Ghisallo Capital Management, William Blair Investment Management and Texas Municipal Retirement System.

The Singaporean government, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund Global, also took part.

The sale is the latest in a series of stake sales by SoftBank in its Indian portfolio companies, particularly in e-commerce and consumer technology. In September, it sold a 1.7 per cent stake in Meesho for ₹1,650 crore.

Earlier this month, it pared a 1.56 per cent stake in eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions for ₹1,896 crore. It also divested nearly 2.6 per cent of Lenskart for ₹2,888 crore in August and a further 3.25 per cent for ₹2,873 crore in June. In January, it cut its shareholding in electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric Mobility by 2.15 per cent.