Meesho completes India flip; PayU breaks even in FY25

Economic Times

3 hours ago

Meesho has officially moved its base to India, completing its reverse flip, as per filings seen by ET. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Kamath brothers invest in InCred ■ Smartphone sales go local■ Cheap fashion, full closets
Meesho concludes reverse flip process; likely to file DRHP in 2-3 weeks
Sanjeev Barnwal and Vidit Aatrey, founders, Meesho
Ecommerce marketplace Meesho has completed its reverse flip and shifted its domicile to India, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies reviewed by ET.
Driving the news:
The SoftBank-backed company secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on May 27 to proceed with its reverse flip.
As part of the move, the company is expected to face a tax liability of $280-300 million in the United States.
With this, Meesho joins a growing list of high-profile startups, including Groww, Razorpay, Dream Sports, Zepto and PhonePe, that have redomiciled to India in recent years.
Quote, unquote: "Meesho's board met late on Sunday...and has approved the merger and share allotment to investors of the US entity. It is now a fully Indian company," one of the persons said. The company is expected to file its draft IPO prospectus in the next two to three weeks.
Tell me more: Meesho filed for NCLT approval of the reverse merger in January.
Around the same time, it closed a $550 million funding round, bringing in new investors including Tiger Global, Mars Growth Capital, and Think Investments.
Meanwhile, Meesho's ecommerce rival, the Walmart-owned Flipkart, is also preparing to shift its domicile from Singapore to India ahead of a planned 2026 IPO.
PayU India revenue rises 12% to Rs 4,300 crore in FY25
PayU India's payments business broke even in the second half of FY25, fuelled by stronger revenue growth from deeper penetration among existing merchants and a sharper focus on value-added services, according to its parent company, Prosus' latest annual report.
Revenue growth:
The company posted a 12% year-on-year rise in revenue to $498 million (approximately Rs 4,317.6 crore) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.
Total payment volume (TPV) grew 14%, led by increased activity across financial services, government, airlines, and food delivery segments.
Regulatory greenlight: Earlier this year, PayU received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator, following in-principle clearance over a year prior. To bolster its real-time payments stack, it also acquired a 70% stake in banking tech firm Mindgate Solutions for $68 million.
Holding on: The Amsterdam-based investment also stated that it was planning to delay PayU's planned 2025 listing, with its CFO Mico Marais telling Reuters that it would want to 'improve that business.'
Prosus surpasses financial targets with $7.4 billion annual earnings
Earlier on Monday, Dutch tech investor Prosus also posted a $179 million profit for the year ended March 31, 2025, completing a turnaround from a $118 million loss a year earlier. It reported core headline earnings of $7.4 billion for the whole year, a 47% jump from last year, beating its financial targets on the back of growth in food delivery and ecommerce.
Highlight: Prosus said its ecommerce revenue rose 21% to $6.2 billion, driven by AI-led innovation and growth across Latin America, Europe and India.
Also Read: Swiggy GOV growth came at cost of profitability: Prosus
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Zerodha's Kamath brothers pick Rs 250 crore minority stake in InCred
Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath, cofounders, Zerodha
Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, cofounders of stockbroking platform Zerodha, have acquired a minority stake in InCred Holdings, the parent company of the non-banking financial firm InCred Financial Services. The deal was executed through a share purchase worth Rs 250 crore.
Setting the stage: The investment comes at a crucial juncture for InCred, which is preparing for a potential Rs 4,000-crore initial public offering (IPO). Last week, its wealth management arm, InCred Wealth, expanded into the retail broking segment by acquiring discount broking platform Stocko.
Quote, unquote: 'India's credit ecosystem is changing fast—more formal, more digital, and more accessible,' said Nikhil Kamath. 'InCred Group seems to get that. They've built a strong team, a technology-first approach, and a clear view of where the market is headed.'
Backstory: In 2022, InCred Finance merged with KKR India Financial Services, creating a consolidated NBFC platform. The company reached unicorn status in December 2023 after raising $60 million in a Series D round led by high-net-worth individuals, valuing it at around $1.04 billion.
Smartphone brands shift focus to offline sales in smaller towns
Smartphone brands are increasingly moving beyond metro cities, turning to offline retail channels in smaller towns to drive growth. This marks a clear departure from their earlier dependence on ecommerce platforms.
Driving sales: Brands are targeting customers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities with easier access to financing, especially as demand for premium handsets picks up in these markets. At the same time, shipments to online retailers declined for the seventh consecutive month in April. Market trackers attribute this drop to online-first brands making a deliberate shift towards physical retail.
Changing tack: With online platforms losing momentum, nearly all brands have scaled back volumes through online channels. Even those that built their presence on online platforms are now rebalancing their distribution strategies. Motorola brought down its online shipments to 64% in Q1 2025 from 82% a year ago.
OnePlus also reduced its online share to 71%, compared to 85% in the same period.
Xiaomi now garners 39% of its volumes from ecommerce, down from 45% in Q1 2024.
Slow growth: Industry insiders say brands are increasingly aware that ecommerce penetration in India is plateauing. A large share of the country's smartphone market still depends on local retail stores, where in-person interactions and financing options often play a bigger role in purchasing decisions.
Chart-ed: Fast fashion fuels closet overload
A recent survey by Statista reveals a shopping trend in which both men and women often purchase clothes that they never wear.Consumers, especially women, frequently purchase clothing items from fast fashion brands. Among the surveyed countries, the United Kingdom ranks highest, with 29% of female and 17% of male respondents often buying clothes they never wear. India follows closely, with 25% of women and 18% of men reporting the same.
Updated On Jun 23, 2025, 07:22 PM IST