India-based hospitality company Oyo is in talks with ride hailing app developer Grab for a $100m commitment to its $1bn funding round already backed by telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank, the Economic Times reported today.
The deal is expected to be completed in the next few days, people familiar with the matter told the Economic Times.
In September this year, Softbank Vision Fund, the near-$100bn vehicle managed by SoftBank, and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners backed an initial $800m tranche. The total round values the company at $5bn.
Founded in 2013, Oyo operates a network of rooms across more than 8500 hotels in 230 cities in India Malaysia, Nepal, the UK and China. The company enables users to book affordable room in five seconds through its mobile app.
Oyo has secured a total of approximately $1.25bn in funding to date, not including Grab’s potential investment. Internet company Tencent was rumoured to be exploring a nine-figure commitment in July this year, but does not appear to have invested yet.
In September 2017, SoftBank Vision Fund led the company’s $250m round,which included included insurance and aerospace component provider Hero Enterprise, Lightspeed, Sequoia and Greenoaks Capital.
The same month, Oyo raised $10m from hotel operator China Lodging Group. Softbank had previously led a $100m series B round in 2015 that also included Lightspeed, Sequoia and Greenoaks, and the corporate returned in 2016 to add $62m.