Indian hospitality start-up OYO Hotels and Rooms, which is backed by SoftBank Group, is likely to file an initial public offering (IPO) this coming week to raise funds up to $1 billion, reported Reuters on Thursday, 22 September. Banks including Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan and Citi are reportedly advising the hospitality firm on the IPO.
A source told the news agency that OYO is intending to be listed at India's financial capital Mumbai. Its IPO is expected to be between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.
Besides, an offer for sale of share from existing shareholders, the IPO will also have fresh issue of shares.
The move by the hotel aggregator comes after several organisations, such as Zomato, Paytm, and Nykaa, also filed IPOs in the recent times. Ride-sharing company Ola, which is also backed by SoftBank Group, is reportedly set to enter markets soon.
According to Reuters, OYO, whose 46 percent stake is owned by SoftBank Group, has had to face multiple challenges, including lay-offs and cost-cuttings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In July, Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and chief executive of the company, had said that their business was likely to be back to levels seen before COVID-19 second wave in India and "grow from there".
In August, Microsoft had invested $5 million in OYO.
(With inputs from Reuters.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)