Indian hotel chain Oyo is planning to raise about 84.3 billion rupees ($1.16 billion) in an initial public offering, according to draft papers submitted to the country’s market regulator.
Oyo plans to issue new shares worth up to 70 billion rupees while existing shareholders could sell shares worth up to14.3 billion rupees. Some of the start-up’s prominent backers include SoftBank Vision Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital India.
According to the draft prospectus uploaded by ICICI Securities, which is one of the book running lead managers for the IPO, Oyo would also consider issuing shares worth up to 14 billion rupees ($193 million) in a pre-IPO placement.
The Gurugram-headquartered firm said it would use proceeds from the IPO to pay off existing obligations and fund growth, which could include mergers and acquisitions.
Oyo’s technology allows hoteliers to accept online bookings and payments through its platform, among other services. The start-up has expanded beyond India and into the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia. It considers India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Europe as its core growth markets.
Last year, a New York Times report cast doubt on the Indian start-up’s financial health, highlighting questionable tactics employed in the pursuit of growth.
The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the hospitality sector and the Indian hotel chain laid off employees to cut costs and losses.
The start-up is also the latest among a number of highly valued Indian tech start-ups to enter the public market.
Food delivery firm Zomato made its market debut in July. Payments giant Paytm has filed for a $2.2 billion IPO. Ride-hailing firm Ola is planning to raise up to $1 billion when it goes public. Walmart-owned e-commerce player Flipkart is also reportedly considering a public listing.
– CNBC