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India: Oravel Stays, the parent company of Softbank-backed hospitality chain OYO, has raised $173.5 million [Rs 1,457 crore] in a Series G funding round.
The round was led by OYO founder and CEO, Ritesh Agarwal, through his wholly owned entity, Patient Capital, as well as InCred Wealth, J&A Partners and ASK Financial Holdings. OYO’s shareholders approved the capital injection, which included a raise of approximately $123 million [Rs 1,040 crore] on top of a previous raise of approximately $49.5 million [Rs 416.85 crore], at an Extraordinary General Meeting [EGM] last Thursday.
As a result of the investment, Agarwal has increased his stake in OYO from 29.97 per cent to 32.57 per cent.
Meanwhile, sources told Techcrunch that the fresh raise will value OYO at $2.4 billion, a significant drop from its previous high valuation of $10 billion.
Just last week, OYO announced the acquisition of Paris-based short-/mid-term rental property management company Checkmyguest, which will be completed in the latter half of the year. The deal, which also includes the purchase of housing renovation business [formerly Helpmyguest] and luxury rental apartment company Studio Prestige, is reported to value Checkmyguest at around €100 million.
Having bought Amsterdam-based vacation rental company @Leisure Group in 2019, the Indian chain currently manages more than 50,000 vacation homes in 20+ European countries, including in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. Checkmyguest will be OYO’s third major purchase in the short-term rental space since launching OYO Vacation Homes, following the acquisition of Croatian vacation rental franchise agency Direct Booker for $5.5 million in May 2022 and Nordic-based holiday home operator Bornholmske Feriehuse three months later.
More recently, OYO has announced that it is extending the footprint of its premium home rental brand Belvilla in the UK, while OYO Vacation Homes brand Dancenter is also planning significant expansion this year.
Having withdrawn its second initial public offering [IPO] application in May, OYO is rumoured to be aiming to refile after multiple attempts to go public via an IPO were delayed due to volatile market conditions.
