Oyo, once India's best-known budget hotel chain, has withdrawn its IPO application from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the second time, dealing another blow to its already waning ambitions.
The Gurugram-headquartered startup, which boasted a valuation of $10 billion at its peak, called off its IPO plans on May 17, according to disclosures on its regulatory website. Oyo had initially submitted documents to SEBI for listing in 2021, but withdrew them and resubmitted them in 2023.
SEBI is yet to approve either of Oyo's applications, raising questions whether the startup is ready to face public scrutiny. TechCrunch reported earlier this month that Oyo is desperate to secure a new round of funding at a valuation of less than $3 billion. Oyo denied raising capital at that valuation.
However, the company is currently trying to raise money at a lower valuation of $2 billion to $2.3 billion, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. To date, it has raised more than $3 billion in equity and debt.
Oyo is backed by SoftBank, Peak XV, Lightspeed, Airbnb, and Microsoft and was once hailed as a disruptor of the budget hotel industry. But in recent years, the startup has been criticized for its business practices, including laying off thousands of employees in 2020 to cut costs.