OYO's Valuation Crossed $ 9 Billion Mark

Hospitality major OYO Hotels & Homes' valuation has reached the $9 billion-mark, according to industry sources.

The development comes after the latest fundraise of Rs 54 crore or $7.31 million from Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd.

In a regulatory filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, OYO said that it has raised Rs 54 crore ($7.31 million) at a share price of $58,490 as part of its Series F1 round.

With over 50 products and more than 500 microservices, the company plans to utilise the capital in strengthening its technology stack for delivering an improved partner and customer experience.

Hindustan Media Ventures subscribed to OYO's Series F1 Compulsory Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares (Series F1 CCCPS) for cash at an issue price of Rs 43.20 lakh per Series F1 CCCPS for an aggregate consideration equivalent to Rs 54 crore to Hindustan Media Ventures Limited on a private placement basis.

The growth in valuation comes after it dropped to $8 billion last year from $10 billion in November 2019.

OYO Hotels & Homes is also backed by investors including the SoftBank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Airbnb, and Hero Enterprise, amongst others.

In October 2019, OYO announced that it had raised $1.5 billion, as part of its Series F funding round. As a part of this round, RA Hospitality Holdings' infused approximately $700 million as primary capital in the company, with the balance of $800 million being supplemented by other existing investors.

When contacted Abhishek Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, OYO Hotels & Homes told IANS: "We are delighted to welcome HT Media Ventures Ltd. as an investor in OYO. Their support will help us to further build on our unique technology stack for small hotels and homeowners across the world."

He said that OYO is on a steady path of resurgence in 2021, the company is seeing signs of recovery in its core markets of India, Europe, and Southeast Asia while sustaining gross margin dollars at pre-Covid levels.

"Despite the pandemic, the company's valuation has held through and we believe this will only improve as the guests across the world gradually begin to travel again," Gupta said.

Piyush Gupta, Group CFO, HT Media Ventures Ltd, said: "We are extremely excited to partner OYO in its mission of supporting owners and operators of small and independent hotels and homes through its pioneering technology. We look forward to working with the company's management as it continues to add value to the experience of its asset partners and guests alike."

Hindustan Media Ventures is promoted by HT Media Ltd which holds 74.4 per cent stake in the company.