Ritesh Agarwal, Founder, and CEO, Oyo Hotels told employees that Oyo is recovering from the coronavirus fallout level and has around $1 billion for funding operations until an initial public offering (IPO).
The 27-year-old entrepreneur made his comments in a fireside chat with the Oyo’s board member, Troy Alstead after the company’s hospitality chain endured months of layoffs and losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Alstead, Former CFO, Starbucks Corp. is an independent director in Oyo Rooms. Gerry Lopez and Munish Varma of SoftBank Group Crop. are the other board members. Oyo is one of the largest startups in SoftBank Group’s portfolio and before the pandemic, it has reached at a valuation of around $10 billion.
Agarwal said, “Our management’s focus is to make sure that we have a well designed, IPO-ready company, available for our shareholders and board members to make the right decision”. He has also borrowed $2 billion for buying shares in his own company and hinted that he wants to get business in shape for a public offering.
The company is focusing on getting revenue per available room for up to 60 per cent to 80 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels across all its markets, said Agarwal. He added that India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia are the markets that are progressing and reaching up to that level.