Bhubaneswar: SoftBank Group-backed Indian hospitality startup Oyo Hotels and Rooms is expected to file for an initial public offering (IPO) next week to raise around $1 billion, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Its Odisha-born founder and Chief Executive Ritesh Agarwal had said in July that business was likely to return to levels seen before the second wave of COVID-19 infections in India and “grow from there”.
The hotel aggregator is looking to list in India’s financial capital of Mumbai and its IPO is tentatively pegged at between $1 billion and $1.2 billion, the report said quoting a source, adding it will consist of a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale from existing shareholders.
However, there has been no official confirmation from Oyo.
The listing plan follows a stellar debut by food delivery firm Zomato Ltd in July. Berkshire Hathaway Inc-backed Paytm and private equity firm TPG-backed Nykaa have also filed for IPO. Ride-hailing firm Ola, also backed by SoftBank, is set to enter markets too.
Notably, last month, Oyo received a $5 million investment from Microsoft Corp. Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan and Citi are the bankers advising Oyo on the IPO, the source said.
