Founder’s Shares Purchase Sends India’s OYO’s Valuation To $10B

Indian hospitality business OYO now has a valuation of $10 billion after its founder, Ritesh Agarwal, purchased $2 billion in shares from Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The 25-year-old founder completed the transaction via a Cayman Islands company called RA Hospitality Holdings, and was financed by institutional banks and finance partners. The move increased his 10 percent stake to 30 percent. SoftBank also increased its ownership from 45 percent to 48 percent.

“We have confidence in Ritesh’s vision for OYO and how the team has come together to build a truly global brand from India,” Munish Varma, managing partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, one of OYO’s biggest investors said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

OYO has raised $1.6 billion in equity funding so far. Other investors in the company include Airbnb, Grab Holdings and Didi Chuxing. OYO is active in 800 cities in 80 countries, with more than 23,000 hotels in its portfolio. There are also plans to invest $300 million in the U.S. market, where it currently operates more than 50 OYO Hotels in 35 cities and 10 states.

And just last week OYO announced plans to expand into coworking spaces with a venture called OYO Workspaces. It is already running in 10 Indian cities and has about 20 centers, serving around 15,000 people. Well-known firms like Paytm, Pepsi, Swiggy and Lenskart have all signed up to use the new workspaces.

In addition, OYO announced that it has acquired Innov8, a coworking startup that already has 200 workers and about 16 centers. It was acquired for $30 million. As a result, OYO will have three in-house brands that will be a part of OYO Workspaces, including Innov8, which is being touted as a premium option. The other two are Workflo and Powerstation, which will be geared toward people who want a more affordable option. Those workspaces can be accessed for around Rs 6,999 ($102) a month.

The coworking spaces will have Wi-Fi, a kitchen, parking, storage and housekeeping services.