Oyo founder buys back $2b worth of stock from investors

Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of Oyo Hotels and Homes, has raised his stake in the Indian hospitality chain through a US$2 billion buyback.

Ritesh Agarwal / Photo credit: Oyo

The primary and secondary management investment round, supported by global institutional banks and Agarwal’s financial partners, comes at the heels of Oyo reaching a 4.4x growth in revenue year-on-year in June of this year, the company claims.

Early Oyo backers Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia India are selling portions of their holdings for Agarwal to increase his stake, according to a statement. The company, however, did not disclose further details.

Recently, Oyo has been focused on expanding its business globally. Earlier this month, the startup launched its services in Vietnam and unveiled plans to invest over US$50 million in the country in the next few years. The firm also announced earlier this year that it’s plowing in US$100 million to expand its Indonesia business.

Additionally, it was recently reported that Oyo is spending US$300 million to extend its services into the US. In China, the company inked a partnership with ecommerce platform Meituan-Dianping to boost its presence in the country.