BENGALURU: SoftBank Indian hospitality startup supported by the group Oyo Hotels and rooms are expected to file for an initial public offering (IPO) next week to raise around $ 1 billion, a source told Reuters on Thursday.
The hotel aggregator is aiming for a listing in India’s financial capital Mumbai and its IPO is provisionally at between 1 billion.
Oyo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The listing schedule follows a stellar debut from the grocery supplier Zomato Ltd in July. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-backed Paytm and Nykaa, backed by private equity firm TPG, have also filed for an IPO. The ride-hailing company Ola, which is also supported by SoftBank, will also enter the markets.
Oyo, in which SoftBank owns a 46% stake and is one of its largest shares, suffered months of layoffs, cost cuts and losses during the global health crisis.
Its founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal had said in July that business is likely to return to pre-second wave COVID-19 infections in India and “grow from there”.
Last month, Oyo received a $ 5 million investment from Microsoft Corp, Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan and Citi are the bankers advising Oyo on its IPO, the source said.
