Oyo might withdraw IPO application; raise money from private investors: Report

Ritesh Agarwal-founded Oyo Hotel & Homes is reportedly finalising plans to withdraw its initial public offering draft application from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Oyo had filed a draft application for an IPO in October 2021 for over $1 billion.

According to a report in The Economic Times that quoted a source, the company has been discussing withdrawing the application for some time now, all the stakeholders have been informed, and it is “near imminent”. Oyo is, however, planning to raise new cash from private market investors in the next six to eight months. 

However, Oyo responded to the financial daily’s queries and said that the information is inaccurate and did not confirm in an official capacity. 

Oyo’s first public offer filing was returned by Sebi in January 2023, and the company was asked to refile the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with updates and revisions. Oyo was asked to update additional sections in its DRHP, such as updated risk factors, key performance indicators (KPIs), outstanding litigations, basis for valuation etc.  It then made a confidential pre-filing with Sebi for a smaller-sized IPO. The company was likely to get listed later last year, closer to Diwali. 

Meanwhile, former SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar left the position of group strategic advisor at Oyo in December 2023. His contract had come to an end. 

Founder Ritesh Agarwal has a 33 per cent stake in the company, while Japanese multinational investment holding company SoftBank holds 46 per cent. 

Also read: SoftBank-backed Oyo reportedly pre-files DRHP with Sebi, reduces IPO size to $400 mn-$600 mn