Oyo Hotels Plans Second Try at IPO in India

India-based Oyo Hotels plans to revive its initial public offering attempt, according to an addendum to its Draft Red Herring Prospectus, originally filed with the Securities Exchange Board of India in 2021.

The company’s first IPO attempt in 2021 was shelved to avoid a low evaluation, and the addendum IPO is planned for early 2023. The news follows signs of recovery for the company after setbacks during the pandemic.

According to Bloomberg, “Oyo reported a loss of 18.9 billion rupees ($237 million) for the year through March 2022, nearly halving from the previous 12 months.”

The once-skyrocketing startup originally set its sights on the U.S. and China, but swiftly backtracked to survive extended Covid-19-related travel restrictions and economic hits by cutting costs and laying off thousands of employees.

Oyo now is expanding in key markets. Hotelivate co-founder and chairman Manav Thandi told Bloomberg,“Nobody expected the turnaround after a series of Covid-related challenges to be so quick and so robust,” for Oyo, which will now focus on core markets in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Europe. The company is cutting its losses by giving up on its failed expansion into the U.S. and China.

Valued at $9 billion according to CB Insights, Oyo is backed by Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp., which owns 47 percent of the business and was an early supporter. Oyo founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal owns about one-third of the company. Microsoft is also an Oyo investor.

Angelique Platas  www.businesstravelnews.com