Softbank further trims India exposure, offloads Meesho shares worth Rs 1,885 cr

New Delhi, Japanese investor SoftBank Group has sold 1.65 per cent stake in Meesho for Rs 1,885 crore, further trimming its investments in India's e-commerce sector.

In the latest transaction, SVF II Meerkat (DE) LLC, an affiliate of SoftBank, offloaded 7.64 crore shares in Bengaluru-based Meesho, according to the block deal data on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The share sale was executed on Friday at an average price of Rs 246.75 apiece, taking the total deal value to Rs 1,885.17 crore.

With this, the affiliate's holding in Meesho has fallen to 5.19 per cent from 6.84 per cent.

The stake sale, however, found buyers, with a clutch of domestic and foreign institutional investors participating in the transaction, with Societe Generale (SocGen) emerging as the largest buyer.

Paris-based financial services firm SocGen picked up more than 1.47 crore shares, or a 0.32 per cent stake, for Rs 364.65 crore.

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, Monetary Authority of Singapore and Norway's sovereign wealth fund Government Pension Fund Global, also participated in the transaction.

Meesho shares rose 1.53 per cent to close at Rs 257.99 apiece on the NSE on Friday.

The latest transaction adds to a series of stake sales by SoftBank in its Indian portfolio companies, particularly in the e-commerce and consumer technology space.

Earlier this month, the Japanese investor pared a 1.56 per cent stake in eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions for Rs 1,896 crore. Before that, in September, it sold a 1.7 per cent stake in Meesho for Rs 1,650 crore.

SoftBank had also divested nearly a 2.6 per cent stake in Lenskart for Rs 2,888 crore in August and a further 3.25 per cent stake for Rs 2,873 crore in June.

In January, the technology investor reduced its shareholding in electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric Mobility by 2.15 per cent, continuing its broader portfolio monetisation exercise in the country.