TBM Staff - Mumbai
OYO, a hospitality giant, is reportedly in advanced discussions to raise around INR 1,000 crore in fresh funding, just weeks after withdrawing its initial public offering (IPO) application. According to sources, family offices of prominent Indian corporate executives, including Ramesh Juneja and Rajeev Juneja of Mankind Pharma, as well as stock market expert Anand Jain, are likely to invest in the hotel chain.
OYO withdrew its IPO documents from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) last month. Founded in 2012 by Ritesh Agarwal, the company aims to provide easy-to-book and affordable accommodations worldwide. It claims to offer over 40 integrated products and solutions to operators of more than 157,000 hotel and home storefronts across 35 countries, including India, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
The company is set to host an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on June 18 to approve the fundraise, where it will consider raising around INR 500 crore. In May, OYO was reportedly in talks to raise a fresh funding round at a marked-down valuation. The company had enlisted Incred to facilitate discussions with family offices to raise about USD 80 million to USD 90 million at a valuation of USD 2.3 billion, significantly lower than the USD 10 billion valuation at which it last raised external funding.
OYO reported its first full year of profitability in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), posting a net profit of about INR 100 crore. The company logged its eighth straight quarter of positive EBITDA in Q4 FY24 and had cash reserves of around INR 1,000 crore at the end of the year, according to Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO, OYO.
