Oyo withdraws draft IPO papers, to refile after refinancing $450 million loan

Oravel Stays Ltd, the parent of travel and hospitality firm Oyo, has withdrawn its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) from markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), with plans to refile after refinancing its $450 million loan. 

The Softbank-backed firm pulled back the offer document on 17 May, according to a filing with Sebi.

The company aims to refile papers for its initial public offering (IPO) as soon as the refinancing of the $450 million loan is complete, which is expected by the next quarter, according to a person familiar with the development.

The refinancing will be conducted through the sale of dollar bonds, with JP Morgan likely to be the lead banker, according to agency reports. The estimated interest rate for these bonds is reported to be 9-10% per annum.

Oravel Stays reportedly prepaid a sizeable portion of its debt in November through a buyback process totalling ₹1,620 crore. Approximately 30% of its $660 million outstanding Term Loan B was repurchased as part of the buyback, reducing the loan's outstanding balance to about $450 million.

Led by founder Ritesh Agarwal, Oyo initially filed its preliminary IPO documents with the markets regulator in September 2021, aiming to raise ₹8,430 crore through the initial public offering, which included a secondary offering of ₹1,340 crore. However, Sebi returned Oyo’s draft papers months later, requesting several updates before refiling.

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Oyo did not comment on Mint's queries regarding the withdrawal of the listing papers and subsequent plans. 

In October, Mint had reported that private equity firms General Atlantic and Norwest Venture Partners were in discussions to acquire a stake in Oyo. At that time, the global funds were conducting due diligence, with binding bids potentially to follow.

Agarwal reportedly informed employees that Oyo’s operating revenue stood at ₹5,463 crore in FY23, reflecting a 14% increase from ₹4,781 crore in the previous year. The startup also managed to narrow its losses by 38%, reducing them to ₹1,286 crore in FY23 from ₹1,939.8 crore in the prior fiscal year.

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