OYO, THE INDIAN travel technology firm, is delaying its third IPO attempt amid opposition from its largest shareholder, SoftBank, and market volatility, according to Bloomberg News. The company now plans to list by March 2026 at a valuation of $7 billion.
SoftBank does not support OYO’s plan to list in October and has urged the company to delay its offering until its earnings improve, Bloomberg News reported.
The company first filed to go public in 2021, seeking a valuation of up to $12 billion. It revived the plan in March 2023 with a confidential filing to SEBI but delayed the issue in May. OYO is led by CEO Ritesh Agarwal, also chairman of G6 Hospitality, the parent of Motel 6 and Studio 6.
The company faces a challenging market, with President Donald Trump’s tariff policies sapping investor appetite for risk. SoftBank’s Vision Fund holds a larger stake in OYO than founder Agarwal’s 30 percent holding.
Agarwal had pushed for a quick IPO to meet terms of a restructured $2.2 billion loan he secured in 2019 to increase his stake, the report said. The loan, personally guaranteed by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, had its first installment due in December.
However, SoftBank may back an extension for Agarwal in exchange for delaying the IPO, Bloomberg News reported.
OYO, which reported its first annual net profit in the year ended March 2024, expects to nearly triple it to $74 million in the following year, an OYO spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, OYO is entering the food and beverage business with in-house kitchens and quick-service restaurants at its Townhouse by OYO hotels nationwide, expecting the initiative to generate an additional 5–10 percent in revenue per hotel on a stabilized basis.
