Meesho shares rise after SoftBank sells ₹1,650 crore stake in block deal

Following the latest transaction, the scrip of the company went up by 3.3 per cent to ₹216.67 apiece on the exchange, recovering despite the large block deal in which SoftBank pared its holding in Meesho.

New Delhi: Meesho shares gained more than 3% on Friday as investors showed strong appetite for the e-commerce company, shrugging off a large block deal through which Japanese technology investor SoftBank reduced its stake.The Meesho share price rose 3.3% to Rs 216.67 apiece on the NSE, a day after SoftBank sold a 1.7% stake in the company for around Rs 1,650 crore.SoftBank Cuts Meesho StakeSVF II Meerkat (DE) LLC, a SoftBank affiliate, sold 8 crore Meesho shares in two tranches on Thursday at an average price of Rs 206.30 per share.The combined transaction was valued at Rs 1,650.40 crore. Following the SoftBank stake sale, its holding in Meesho declined to 6.87% from 8.6%.Meesho Expects Over 1 Million Seasonal Jobs Across Seller And Logistics Network Ahead of Festive Season Despite the sizeable block deal, the shares found strong institutional demand from both domestic and overseas investors.Institutional Investors Step InMutual funds managed by Motilal Oswal, Franklin Templeton, Canara Robeco and HSBC were among the domestic buyers. HDFC Standard Life Insurance and Bajaj Life Insurance also purchased shares.Foreign institutional investors participating in the Meesho block deal included Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Government Pension Fund of Norway, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and Kuwait Investment Authority.Meesho Q1 Revenue Jumps 48%, Losses Halve As Profitability Improves Societe Generale, Susquehanna International Group and Millennium Management's Integrated Core Strategies (Asia) were also among the buyers.The latest transaction follows another major stake sale last month when private equity investors Elevation Capital and Peak XV Partners collectively offloaded a 2.3% stake in Meesho for Rs 1,949 crore.Friday’s rebound suggested that institutional buying helped absorb the latest supply of Meesho shares.