Ride hailing service Grab has invested Rs 7.32bn ($104m) in Oravel Stays, the India-based operator of short-term accommodation platform Oyo, VCCircle reported today, citing a regulatory filing.
News of Grab’s interest emerged on Monday when the Economic Times reported that it was in advanced talks to invest $100m. However, a filing with India’s Registrar of Companies seen by VCCircle indicated that it has invested the money.
Oyo runs a network of branded and standardised budget hotel rooms spanning some 350 cities in India, China, the UK, Malaysia and Nepal that can be booked through its platform. It has also expanded into home rental, similar to Airbnb’s offering, through a product called Oyo Living.
Grab’s investment increased the company’s overall funding to about $1.35bn. The ET report stated that the funding would be supplied as part of an ongoing round that is intended to close at $1bn.
Telecommunications firm SoftBank’s Vision Fund joined venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners to provide the first $800m for the round in September 2018 at a $5bn valuation.
Oyo secured $100m in a 2015 series B round led by SoftBank that included Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital India and investment firm Greenoaks Capital, the three investors that had combined with DSG Consumer Growth and Venture Nursery to supply the company’s earlier funding.
SoftBank invested another $62m in the company in 2016 before Vision Fund led a $250m round that included Lightspeed, Sequoia, Greenoaks and insurance and aerospace component provider Hero Enterprise in September 2017. Hotel manager China Lodging Group added $10m the same month.
