As per a credible source, Oravel Stays, which is the parent company that runs the global travel and living firm Oyo, has started its talk to raise USD 200 million in a primary funding round. Furthermore, the report added that the company is seeking to close the funding at a valuation of UDS 4.5-5 billion. This is above its last valuation of USD 2.4 billion, but still far from USD 10 billion. Also, it is reported that Oravel Stays is aiming to support its acquisition of G6 Hospitality, who is the owner of Motel 6, a popular budget hotel chain in the United States.
It has also surfaced that the company is in contact with offshore institutional investors and private Indian investors to raise fresh funds. The list of private investors include the likes of InCred Wealth, J&A Partners, the Mankind Pharma family office, and ASK Financial Holdings, which has pegged the company at USD 2.4 billion.
However, Oyo has declined to comment about the ongoing talks. Furthemore, the company, backed by the Softbank-backed, has raised Rs 1,457 crore from a consortium of investors in August. And if we speak of the Series G funding round after raising Rs 416.85 crore in the same series, the IPO-bound unicorn has raised nearly Rs 1,040 crore.
According to different documents accessed by news agency PTI, the additional equity issuance was given approval by 99.99 percent shareholders in an EGM which was held back on August 8.
Also to note, OYO has clocked its first-ever profit after tax (PAT) of INR 229 crore for FY24. This is a significant turnaround from the Rs 1,286 crore loss it had to face the previous year. This turnaround was fuelled by stringent cost cuts and a INR 453-crore boost from exceptional items, which included Rs 240-crore fair value gain from acquiring Oyo Hotels Cayman and a Rs 249-crore reversal of financial liability.
The profit story is being carried out for eight consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA, which has increased 215 percent to reach INR 877 crore in FY24 from INR 277 crore a year back. Moreover, the OYO's inventory has to 18,103 as on FY24 from 12,938 in FY23.
