Skift Take
Oyoâs significantly reduced valuation could imply a delay in IPO plans until market conditions and investor confidence improve.
Hospitality company Oyo, once a beacon of India’s startup ecosystem, has seen its valuation drop from a peak of $10 billion in 2019 to $2.4 billion in its latest funding round.
The hospitality company raised INR 14.5 billion (approximately $175 million) in a down round, primarily led by Patient Capital, a Singapore-based entity established by Oyo’s founder and CEO, Ritesh Agarwal. Other participants included J&A Partners and ASK Financial Holdings.
Patient Capital contributed the lion’s share of the funds, investing INR 8.3 billion ($100 million), followed by J&A Partners with INR 1.2 billion ($14 million) and ASK with INR 140 million ($1.7 million). Investor Ashish Kacholia, through InCred, plans to inject another INR 760 million ($9 million) into the company.
Oyo will use the capital to support its continued growth and global expansion plans, according to filings.
With this, Oyoâs valuation has now fallen below the total capital raised, estimated to be around $3.3 billion.
Agarwal’s Investment
This isnât the first time Agarwal has invested in the startup. In 2019, he had invested $1.5 billion in Oyo at a valuation of $10 billion.
âRitesh has invested to protect his ownership dilution in Oyo as well as a signal of confidence in the company’s prospects. The investment is backed by Singapore-based family offices. After dilution in the Series G funding round, Ritesh Agarwalâs holdings will increase from 29.9% to 32.57% post this transaction,â sources close to the transaction told Skift.
Earlier this year, Oyo withdrew its application for an IPO, which it had filed in March 2023. A source familiar with Oyoâs plans had told Skift that the company is close to completing a refinancing and expects to pursue an IPO after that.
Speaking at the Skift India Summit in March, Agarwal had said the company doesn’t need access to capital from either the public markets or the private markets: âCurrently, our focus is just delivering good earnings results, and so on.â
Oyo’s Financials
Oyo withdrew its draft IPO papers for the second time. The company initially filed for an IPO in 2021, aiming to raise approximately $1.16 billion with a valuation around $12 billion. However, in September 2022, SoftBank Group, Oyoâs largest investor, cut its estimated value for Oyo to $2.7 billion from an earlier $3.4 billion. Last year, Oyo announced a reduction in its IPO size to between $400 million and $600 million.
In an employee town hall in May, Agarwal confirmed that private investors have approached the company, and it may conduct a small equity round to further reduce its debt.
During the town hall, Agarwal had noted that Oyo had posted an adjusted EBITDA of $107 million for fiscal 2024, up from $33 million in fiscal 2023, marking its eighth consecutive EBITDA-positive quarter. Oyo also achieved its first net profitable year in fiscal 2024.
