Despite the ravages of the pandemic, it’s long been a question of when — rather than if — Oyo would seek to go public, and now the budget hotel-room seller and operator has hired bankers to get it there.
Citing multiple sources, Money Control reported that Softbank-backed Oyo recently hired JP Morgan, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citi for what would initially be a $1.2 billion share sale.
Oyo is leaning toward a public offering in its home base of India, according to the report. That’s not surprising since Oyo founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, who’s a major shareholder in the enterprise, hinted that could be the route in early July, citing a flurry of recent initial public offerings in India.
The $1.2 billion initial share sale could be just that — initial — since Oyo has raised $4.1 billion in funding and debt financing since its founding in 2013. Oyo, which recently dropped China and the U.S. as focus markets in favor of India, Southeast Asia and Europe, has reportedly been in funding talks with Microsoft in what could be a cloud deal that valued Oyo at around $9 billion, according to published reports.
Oyo wouldn’t comment about Microsoft and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about its hiring of bankers to pursue an initial public offering.
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