Meesho aligns legal entity's name with brand as it gears for IPO

Hyper-value ecommerce platform Meesho has changed the name of its legal entity from 'Fashnear Technologies Private' to 'Meesho Private Limited', according to filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Changing the parent entity’s name to match the company’s brand is viewed as a move to strengthen brand recognition among consumers and stakeholders ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

Earlier this month, quick commerce unicorn Zepto changed the name of its parent entity from 'Kiranakart Technologies Private Limited' to 'Zepto Private Limited'. Swiggy, which went public in November last year, had also changed its registered name from 'Bundl Technologies Private Limited' to 'Swiggy Private Limited'.

Meesho is the latest in a trend of startups increasingly looking at Indian bourses for buoyancy and expansion. Startups have been converting into public entities, realigning brand names with the company, and flipping their bases back to India in a bid to capitalise on domestic markets.

Last week, Walmart-backed domestic ecommerce platform Flipkart relocated its holding company from Singapore to India to align its holding structure with core operations. Before that, fintech majors PhonePe and Razorpay also reverse-flipped to India amid their public debut plans.

Meesho has been slowly gaining market share from its more established peers like Amazon India and Flipkart. According to a CLSA brokerage note, Meesho is the largest ecommerce platform in India by order value, with an average of 4.9 million orders.

To date, the company has raised $1.4 billion from a host of investors including Softbank, Prosus, Peak XV, and Westbridge Capital, among others. In its latest round closed earlier this year, it raised $550 million at a valuation of about $3.9 billion.