India-based short-term accommodation platform Oyo has entered discussions with investors including telecommunications and internet group SoftBank to raise $1bn, Times of India reported today.
The round is likely to value the company at about $1bn, three sources familiar with the development told TOI. It is speaking to existing backers such as SoftBank in addition to prospective new investors.
Oyo operates an online platform that allows users to book short stays in hotels with which the company partners. The hotels carry Oyo branding and provide a standardised offering that ensures users can expect a minimum level from their stay.
The company is present in Europe, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Southeast Asia in addition to its home country.
The latest round comes after Oyo received $100m to $200m in funding from accommodation booking platform Airbnb in April this year at a valuation “substantially higher” than the $5bn valuation at which it closed a $1bn round two months earlier that took its total funding to $1.45bn.
SoftBank’s Vision fund, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners invested $800m in September 2018, before ride hailing platform Grab added $104m three months later. Another on-demand ride provider, Didi Chuxing, provided $100m in February through subsidiary Star Virtue Investment.
Oyo raised $100m in a 2015 series B round led by SoftBank and backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital India and Greenoaks Capital which, like DSG Consumer Growth and Venture Nursery, were existing backers.
SoftBank provided another $62m for the company in 2016 at a $460m valuation before leading a $250m round in August 2017 featuring insurance and aerospace company Hero Enterprise, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Greenoaks Capital.
The August round valued Oyo at between $850m and $900m and was followed by a $10m investment from hotel operator China Lodging Group the following month.
