Hotel booking Firm Oyo files DHRP for $1.1 billion IPO
Oyo Hotels & Homes, a hotel-booking firm, submitted a draught prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) for 84.3 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) on Thursday, joining the rush of technology unicorns seeking a listing on Indian stock markets after a world-beating stock surge. According to the petition, the SoftBank Group Corp. and Airbnb Inc.-backed company intends to raise 70 billion rupees through the sale of new shares. The remaining shares will be secondary or sold by existing stockholders. According to CB Insights, the business was recently valued at over $9 billion, making it India's third most valuable startup.
According to the prospectus, the promoters include founder Ritesh Agarwal, his holding firm RA Hospital Holdings, and SoftBank Vision Fund, the three largest owners. According to the most recent filing with India's ministry of company affairs, SoftBank owned 46 percent of the company, while Agarwal and his holding company owned a combined 33 percent. The filing of Oyo's draught red herring prospectus, which is officially known as Oravel Stays, shows a significant rebound following the pandemic that shook the tourism and hospitality industry. The company has rebranded, moving away from a business strategy that caused financial strain, strained relationships with hoteliers, and resulted in legal fights.
Oyo has stopped providing minimum guarantees to its 157,000 partners — hotels, homes, and resorts on its storefront marketplace — and has stopped investing in hotel upgrades. Instead, the corporation enters into revenue-sharing agreements with partners and gains complete and absolute control over the inventory of the hotel owner.
After food delivery service Zomato Ltd. became the first to list in July, Oyo is the latest Indian unicorn to register its intent to go public. Paytm, a digital payments firm, and Nykaa, an online cosmetics retailer, are among the companies that have filed preliminary filings.
According to Bloomberg News, Edtech Byju's, the country's most valuable company, is exploring an IPO in the first half of 2022. After dropping out of college, Agarwal founded Oyo in 2013. If Oyo's IPO is successful, he will be worth billions of dollars. The well-known businessman was part of a select group of SoftBank-backed startup founders who were mentored by Masayoshi Son himself. Agarwal tripled his interest in the accommodations firm and increased his ownership to roughly a third in 2019 with a $2 billion investment, primarily borrowed. More than 90% of the hotels listed on Gurgaon-based Oyo's platform are in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Europe.
According to the prospectus, the promoters include founder Ritesh Agarwal, his holding firm RA Hospital Holdings, and SoftBank Vision Fund, the three largest owners. According to the most recent filing with India's ministry of company affairs, SoftBank owned 46 percent of the company, while Agarwal and his holding company owned a combined 33 percent. The filing of Oyo's draught red herring prospectus, which is officially known as Oravel Stays, shows a significant rebound following the pandemic that shook the tourism and hospitality industry. The company has rebranded, moving away from a business strategy that caused financial strain, strained relationships with hoteliers, and resulted in legal fights.
Oyo has stopped providing minimum guarantees to its 157,000 partners — hotels, homes, and resorts on its storefront marketplace — and has stopped investing in hotel upgrades. Instead, the corporation enters into revenue-sharing agreements with partners and gains complete and absolute control over the inventory of the hotel owner.
After food delivery service Zomato Ltd. became the first to list in July, Oyo is the latest Indian unicorn to register its intent to go public. Paytm, a digital payments firm, and Nykaa, an online cosmetics retailer, are among the companies that have filed preliminary filings.
According to Bloomberg News, Edtech Byju's, the country's most valuable company, is exploring an IPO in the first half of 2022. After dropping out of college, Agarwal founded Oyo in 2013. If Oyo's IPO is successful, he will be worth billions of dollars. The well-known businessman was part of a select group of SoftBank-backed startup founders who were mentored by Masayoshi Son himself. Agarwal tripled his interest in the accommodations firm and increased his ownership to roughly a third in 2019 with a $2 billion investment, primarily borrowed. More than 90% of the hotels listed on Gurgaon-based Oyo's platform are in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Europe.
