Jobaaj Stories
Hotel bookings startup Oyo is reportedly looking to slash its upcoming IPO by two-thirds as it considers the market conditions being unfavourable.
Ritesh Agarwal launched Oravel Stays Ltd., the unicorn of the hotel and travel industries, in 2013 based in Gurugram. 2013 even saw the launch of the OYO app after the company received Series-A funding. In 2015, the company expanded throughout India, with locations in 100 cities.
Malaysia was the company's first international market when it expanded in 2016. After that, the business expanded in 2019 to the US, the Middle East, and Europe after doing so in 2018 in China, the UK, and Indonesia. In 2021, the app had more than 100 million downloads.
The Softbank-backed company submitted its DRHP in October 2021 after turning EBITDA positive but postponed it in May 2021.
However, its plan to go public was revived once again when its EBITDA turned positive, and its financial position was good enough to consider listing. It refiled its DRHP in September 2022.
However, with plans to slash its IPO size, the company is reportedly planning to refile its documents this week with a 67% reduction in its IPO size.
Ideally, the time isn't good for any tech startup to list since valuations have plunged to all-time lows. Moreover, even though travel has resumed, the company is still making heavy losses.
The aim to push for the IPO by the founder is an attempt by the founder to push for the listing even at weaker terms to alleviate some of the financial pressures mounting on the company.
- Aman Agarwal
