Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank has invested Rs 4.13bn ($62m) in India-based budget accommodation platform Oyo, LiveMint reported yesterday, citing a regulatory filing.
Oyo launched its service in 2013, and operates an online platform that enables users to book branded rooms in budget hotels with which it partners. It has more than 8,500 partner hotels in 170 Indian cities, equating to more than 68,000 rooms.
The company is looking to grow its offering by taking the entire inventory of selected hotels under a drive called Oyo Flagship, and branching out into more all-encompassing holiday packages.
SoftBank led Oyo’s $100m series B round in August 2015, investing alongside venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Greenoaks Capital at a $400m valuation.
Lightspeed, Sequoia, Greenoaks, DSG Consumer Partners and Venture Nursery had previously supplied more than $25.5m in funding to the company.
Oyo had aimed to raise $100m in its latest round, three people familiar with the company’s plans told LiveMint, but none of its other backers invested. A report last month suggested the funding would be raised at a valuation of $460m, and that $9m would go to buying out an existing shareholder.