SoftBank-backed Oravel Stays Ltd., parent of OYO, faces investor pushback over its planned IPO valuation. Investors have indicated interest at a pre-money valuation of about 250 billion rupees ($2.6 billion), compared with the 400 billion rupees the company is seeking, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has also reduced the planned IPO size to approximately 33.5 billion rupees from 66.5 billion rupees, PT I reported this week. Oravel is currently holding investor meetings and targets an IPO launch as early as November, though details including valuation, size and timing remain subject to change.
The valuation pushback underscores a tougher environment for Indian startups seeking public markets, as investors scrutinize pricing and paths to sustainable profitability. Earlier, Zepto Ltd. faced a roughly 68% reduction in valuation in August. Oravel has made multiple IPO attempts, filing draft documents with India's Securities Exchange Board in September 2021 for 84.3 billion rupees, which the regulator returned after two years. Founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2012, OYO operates in over 35 countries with 24,303 hotel storefronts, 124,668 home storefronts and 144,583 listings as of Dec. 31, serving 119.36 million unique customers. Its brands include OYO, Motel 6, Townhouse, Sunday and Palette.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing