After years of delays and market uncertainty, hospitality giant OYO appears ready to take another shot at going public. The travel tech company is preparing to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in November, sources familiar with the matter told PTI, targeting an ambitious $7-8 billion valuation.
This marks OYO’s third attempt to go public—a journey that began back in 2021 but got derailed by choppy markets and the company’s focus on hitting profitability targets. The November timeline isn’t set in stone yet, though. OYO’s board still needs to give the green light, with that crucial discussion expected to happen next week.
Behind the scenes, major investor SoftBank has been busy testing the waters. Over recent months, they’ve been in talks with a who’s who of investment banks—Axis, Citi, Goldman Sachs, ICICI, JM Financial, and Jefferies—to gauge market appetite. The feedback seems encouraging enough to move forward.
The proposed valuation works out to roughly Rs 70 per share, representing about 25-30 times the company’s EBITDA—pretty aggressive pricing that reflects confidence in OYO’s recent turnaround. The timing aligns with what insiders describe as a strong Q1 performance, giving the company some solid numbers to showcase.
Ritesh Agarwal’s brainchild has been through quite the transformation lately. The company is rolling out a fresh brand identity and even considering a separate app for its premium hotel segment, which has been seeing solid growth both in India and internationally.
While OYO’s spokesperson remained tight-lipped about specifics—saying decisions rest with the board—the momentum seems real this time around. Whether November actually happens remains to be seen, but after multiple false starts, OYO finally seems poised to test the public markets.
