Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Hotel chain OYO has raised around ₹5,830 crores ($800 million) from Softbank through Softbank Vision Fund. Other existing investors that participated in the round include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Greenoaks Capital.

OYO further received an additional commitment of ₹1,457 crores ($200 million), taking the overall investment to around ₹7,285 crores ($1 billion).

Global financial service provider JP Morgan acted as financial advisor to OYO during the fundraising.

Last month, it was reported that OYO was in talks with a bunch of investors to raise around $500 million to $1 billion, with a valuation of around $4 billion.

Out of the total funds raised, OYO plans to use around $600 million to boost expansion plans in China, while the rest of it will be used to retain its leadership position in India, along with foraying into new markets.

OYO will continue to invest in technology and talent, as it looks to test its model on a global scale.

Talking about the investment, Bejul Somaia, Managing Director, Lightspeed India Partners Advisors, said“It’s exciting to see OYO’s success in scaling the India business while extending their pioneering asset light, controlled-experience model to international markets. Budget travellers are consistently shortchanged by the lack of trust, quality, and consistency in this segment, and we believe that OYO will continue to disrupt the hospitality industry by building a trusted brand that delivers affordable, consistent and high-quality experiences.”

The Gurugram-based startup claims to have achieved unit level profitability and gets more than 90% of demand from direct channels, along with 67% of the topline in India coming from repeat customers. OYO further claims to be growing at a rate of over three times year on year with the net take rates of more than 20%.

With less than 12 months of its foray into the China market, OYO has expanded its presence in more than 171 cities with over 87,000 rooms.

OYO has expanded its footprint to five countries in the last 12 months, including India, China, Malaysia, Nepal, and recently in the UK. With the continued expansion and growth of the startup, OYO has achieved a global status and continues to foray into different verticals.

In September 2017, OYO last raised around $260 million led by Softbank, valuing the hotel chain startup at $850 million.

Earlier this month, OYO forayed into the UK market, marking its first expansion outside Asia.

In August, OYO introduced Palette Resorts, foraying into the premium resorts category. It also launched OYO Wizard, a customer membership program. OYO also approved new ESOP plan, promising more benefits to its employees.

In July, OYO forayed into the wedding industry with new Auto Party venture. It further acquired wedding planning startup Weddingz, to strengthen its wedding vertical, in August.

By Varun

Startups | Books | Ideas

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