HOSPITALITY firm OYO is planning to raise up to Rs 80 billion (£790 million) through an initial public offering (IPO) and is expected to file the draft red herring prospectus with market regulator SEBI next week, sources said on Thursday (23).
OYO has appointed investment banks like JPMorgan, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Capital to manage its public issue, they added. Comments from OYO could not be obtained.
The proposed IPO plan of the hospitality firm follows the spectacular success of Zomato's IPO that ended with a bumper oversubscription on July 16, and was the biggest since March 2020.
Last week, shareholders of Oravel Stays, the parent company of hospitality firm, had approved the conversion of OYO from a private limited company to a public limited company, according to a regulatory filing.
Earlier, the board of Oravel Stays had approved an increase in the authorised share capital of the company from Rs 11.7m (£116,000) to Rs 9 bn (£89m).
In a Registrar of Companies filing in August, OYO had said Microsoft Corporation has invested nearly $5m ((£3.6m) in OYO through the issuance of equity shares and compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares on a private placement basis.
Earlier in July, the company had raised $660m ((£481m) through the term B loan route from global institutional investors, including Fidelity Investments to refinance and simplify its existing borrowings.
In March this year, OYO founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal had said, "OYO is on a steady path of resurgence in 2021 and is seeing signs of recovery across India, Europe, and Southeast Asia. OYO's survival through the Covid crisis and our resurgence show that we are a company with strong fundamentals and high-value potential."
Ghost Directors charge illegal workers to keep shops registered in their name.
Shops were selling below the average UK price.iStock 
Asylum workers are working illegally for poverty wages - representative image.iStock 
