ORAVEL STAYS LIMITED (Oyo Unlisted Shares)

Oravel Stays Limited, the parent company of OYO, turned profitable in FY25, reporting a net profit of ₹244 Crore on revenue of ₹6,252 Crore across 22,700 hotels, 1,19,900 homes, and 91,300 listings spanning India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. The company that once torched investor capital at an industrial pace has spent three years quietly rebuilding itself into a globally diversified hospitality technology platform backed by one of the most recognisable consumer brands in travel.

The G6 Hospitality acquisition in 2023, which brought the iconic Motel 6 and Studio 6 chains under OYO, shifted over 80% of total revenue to international markets and added an immediate EBITDA engine the company had never had before. Shareholders approved a ₹6,650 Crore fresh equity raise in December 2025, clearing a major milestone toward its anticipated public listing.

For quite a while, It has been trading around range between ₹22-₹30 per share in the unlisted market, OYO is trading far below its IPO target valuation of $7-8 billion. That gap is the trade investors in this space are evaluating today.

To Understand this better, Let's take an informative & a knowledgeable Deep-Dive :

The Most Watched Comeback Story in Indian Startup History

No Indian startup has been written off more times than OYO, and none has surprised the market more completely.

Oravel Stays Limited, incorporated on February 21, 2012, in Gujarat and operating under the OYO brand globally, began as a single hotel in Gurugram booked by its nineteen-year-old founder Ritesh Agarwal. By 2019, it had become one of the most talked-about consumer internet companies in the world, valued at $9.6 billion and operating across 35 countries. Then the pandemic arrived, revenues collapsed by nearly two-thirds in a single year, and the obituaries started being written.

What happened next was not what most people expected.

OYO spent three years doing something Indian unicorns are rarely celebrated for : shrinking deliberately, cutting costs without apology, walking away from geographies that were burning cash without strategic logic, and rebuilding the business around profitability rather than growth-at-any-cost. The result was FY25, when Oravel Stays Limited reported its first full-year consolidated net profit of ₹244 Crore on revenue of ₹6,252 Crore. It was not a massive profit. But it was real, audited, and structurally earned.

What OYO Actually Is in 2025

OYO is a technology-enabled hospitality platform that sits between property owners and travellers. The model is asset-light by design. OYO does not own the hotels, homes, or storefronts on its platform. Instead, it partners with property owners, listed as "Patrons" in company filings, providing them with a full-stack technology suite that covers digital onboarding, revenue management, dynamic pricing, direct-to-consumer booking, and business analytics through its Co-OYO and OYO OS applications. In exchange, OYO receives a revenue share of approximately 20% to 35% of Gross Booking Value, net of discounts and loyalty points.

The simplicity of this description hides the scale of what has been built. As of the latest available data, OYO operates 22,700 hotels, 1,19,900 homes, and 91,300 rental listings worldwide. The platform serves travellers across India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States, with international markets now contributing over 80% of total consolidated revenue.

The Motel 6 Acquisition: The Move That Changed Everything

The single most significant strategic event in OYO's recent history was the acquisition of G6 Hospitality in 2023 for approximately USD 525 million. G6 Hospitality is the owner and franchisor of the Motel 6 and Studio 6 budget motel chains in the United States, with over 1,400 properties across America representing more than 8,500 rooms.

This acquisition did several things simultaneously for OYO. It added a franchise-based, asset-light revenue stream from the world's largest hospitality market. It gave OYO immediate brand recognition in a geography where it had no meaningful presence. It diversified revenue away from India's highly competitive and margin-compressed budget hospitality segment. And it added, by management's own FY26 guidance, an EBITDA contribution of approximately ₹630 Crore from the G6 portfolio alone.

The Motel 6 model generates revenue through franchise fees from independent motel operators who license the brand, rather than through direct operations. This means G6's revenue is structurally more predictable and less operationally complex than OYO's own managed hotel model. Adding it to the group fundamentally changed the quality of OYO's revenue mix.

In parallel, OYO acquired Checkmyguest, a premium vacation rental management company based in Paris, in 2024, expanding its European homes portfolio into the higher-value short-term rental segment.

Premium Segment Expansion: The Sunday Hotels Brand

OYO's original identity was budget accommodation. The company is now actively building upward in the value stack. Its Sunday Hotels brand, positioned as premium mid-scale, has launched over 30 properties across India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Southeast Asia. OYO's Palette Resorts, a leisure resort brand, is expanding across Tier 1 and Tier 2 Indian cities. The company is targeting the same fragmented property owner base it always served, now moving them into a higher average daily rate segment that generates better unit economics for both OYO and its Patron partners.

Occupancy rates at company-serviced hotels that have been operating for more than six months consistently exceeded 70% in Q1 FY26, a metric that is strong by Indian budget hospitality standards and evidence that the demand side of the platform remains healthy.

FY25 Financials: The Numbers Behind the Turnaround

Oravel Stays Limited reported FY25 consolidated revenue from operations of ₹6,252 Crore, up from ₹5,388 Crore in FY24, representing 16% growth. The net profit of ₹244 Crore, confirmed by founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal in direct communication, came despite one-time accelerated loan repayment costs that compressed the headline figure. Management has stated that those accelerated repayments will provide a recurring annual benefit in debt servicing from FY26 onward.

The D/E ratio of 1.89x reflects the debt taken on to fund the G6 Hospitality acquisition. This is not organic operating leverage. It is acquisition debt on an asset that is already generating EBITDA, which changes the risk profile compared to debt raised for speculative capacity expansion.

Q1 FY26 provided the clearest signal yet of the trajectory OYO is on. Revenue grew 47% year-on-year to ₹2,019 Crore, Gross Booking Value jumped 144% to approximately ₹7,227 Crore, and PAT crossed ₹200 Crore in a single quarter. FY26 management guidance stands at ₹1,100 Crore PAT and ₹2,000 Crore EBITDA. If delivered, that would price the company at approximately 28-36x FY26 earnings at the unlisted market price of ₹21-30, a materially different multiple than the trailing 135-150x that the FY25 numbers imply.

Capital Structure and the Road to IPO

OYO's capital structure is among the most complex of any Indian unlisted company. It carries multiple preference share series (A through G) from successive funding rounds, including investments from SoftBank, Airbnb, Microsoft, Patient Capital Investments, Lightspeed, and Sequoia, among others. These preference shares were converted to equity through a combination of 3,999:1 bonus share issuances and 1:1 conversions, resulting in a total post-adjustment share count of approximately 1,401 Crore shares.

The founder group controls the company effectively. As of the latest available filings, Ritesh Agarwal holds approximately 29.65% directly and RA Hospitality Holdings (Cayman), his investment vehicle, holds approximately 34.90%, giving the founder group effective majority control. SoftBank, through SVF India Holdings Limited, remains the largest single institutional investor. Ritesh Agarwal has personally invested over ₹1,380 Crore into the company since 2024, including a ₹550 Crore infusion in January 2025 through his investment entity, signalling his personal conviction in the turnaround.

On December 20, 2025, shareholders of Oravel Stays Limited approved a resolution to raise up to ₹6,650 Crore through a fresh equity issue. A 1:19 bonus share issue was also approved, with December 5, 2025 as the record date. These moves are part of capital restructuring ahead of an anticipated public listing. The company has targeted a $7-8 billion IPO valuation, which is significantly higher than the current unlisted market implied valuation of approximately $3.7-$4.9 billion at ₹21-₹30 per share.

OYO had previously filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI in October 2021 for an ₹8,430 Crore IPO, subsequently revised and eventually withdrawn in May 2024 as market conditions became unfavourable and private placement was pursued instead. The current DRHP status is: not filed. The company is widely expected to approach SEBI with a new filing once FY26 quarterly results demonstrate sustained profitability.

Management and Governance

The company's board includes Ritesh Agarwal as non-executive Chairman, Aditya Ghosh as independent director, and Troy Alstead, Bejul Somaia, Sumer Juneja, Dr. Deepa Malik, and William Steve Albrecht. The company is managed by Abhinav Sinha as Manager (the equivalent of a Managing Director under Indian company law), with Rakesh Kumar as Group CFO and Rakesh Kumar Prusti as Group General Counsel. Statutory audit is conducted by S.R. Batliboi and Associates LLP, the EY affiliate in India, an audit firm of institutional quality.

Statutory Auditor: S.R. Batliboi and Associates LLP (EY affiliate) Bankers: Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, JP Morgan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mizuho Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank, HSBC

KEY RISKS

• Elevated Debt Load from G6 Acquisition: Total consolidated borrowings of ₹7,144 Crore against equity of ₹3,787 Crore gives a D/E of 1.89x; this is acquisition debt on a US motel chain and must be serviced regardless of operating performance in India

• Revenue Concentration in International Markets: Over 80% of revenue now comes from outside India; currency movements, geopolitical shifts, or regulatory changes in the US or Europe directly affect consolidated financials

• Stretched P/E Multiple: At 135x trailing earnings, the current unlisted price leaves no room for earnings disappointment; any miss in FY26 guidance will compress the valuation sharply

• IPO Timeline Uncertainty: DRHP has not been filed; the previous filing was withdrawn in 2024; no regulatory clearance or confirmed listing date exists, leaving unlisted investors without a defined exit pathway

• Competitive Intensity: Budget and mid-scale hospitality is fiercely competitive across all of OYO's markets; Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Booking.com, and domestic operators compete directly for the same guest and property inventory

• Platform Dependency Model Risk: OYO's revenue depends on Patron participation; any deterioration in partner satisfaction or platform fee disputes could reduce inventory quality without warning

• G6 Hospitality Integration Risk: Managing a US-based franchise operation from India is operationally complex; brand dilution or guest satisfaction issues in the Motel 6 network would directly impact OYO's largest EBITDA contributor

• One-Time PAT Dampening: FY25 PAT of ₹244 Crore was impacted by accelerated loan repayments; while management expects a recurring benefit from this, the headline number understates underlying profitability, creating interpretation risk for investors reading the financials in isolation

• Complex Capital Structure: Multiple preference share series, successive bonus conversions, and a large ESOP pool create ongoing dilution risk and make per-share metrics difficult to track year-on-year without deep financial due diligence

KEY OPPORTUNITIES

• FY26 Earnings Re-rating: Management has guided ₹1,100 Crore PAT and ₹2,000 Crore EBITDA for FY26; if delivered, the stock re-rates to approximately 29x trailing earnings at current price, a dramatically different investment proposition from the current 135x

• Motel 6 EBITDA Engine: G6 Hospitality's franchise model is expected to contribute approximately ₹630 Crore EBITDA in FY26 alone; this is a structurally predictable, US-dollar-denominated cash flow stream that de-risks OYO's India-centric revenue history

• Q1 FY26 Momentum: Revenue growth of 47% year-on-year and PAT exceeding ₹200 Crore in a single quarter suggest the FY26 guidance is not aspirational but operationally supported

• Premiumisation Drive: Sunday Hotels and Palette Resorts expansion into mid-scale and leisure segments increases average revenue per property, improving unit economics without proportionate cost increases

• India Travel Demand Tailwind: Domestic travel in India is structurally growing, driven by rising middle-class disposable income, better infrastructure, and UPI-enabled booking convenience; OYO sits at the intersection of all three

• Ritesh Agarwal's Personal Commitment: ₹1,380 Crore of personal investment since 2024 signals that the founder is not exiting; founder-led businesses with this level of promoter skin in the game are historically better managed through listing transitions

• IPO Discovery Premium: A confirmed public listing at the targeted $7-8 billion valuation would represent a 2.1x to 2.5x rerating from the current unlisted market price of ₹23 per share, creating significant upside for early investors willing to hold through the listing process

• Checkmyguest Integration: European premium vacation rental management is a high-margin, high-growth segment that complements OYO's mass-market India business and positions the company to capture premium travel trends globally

• Brand Recognition Across All Segments: Few travel brands in the world have household recall across budget, mid-scale, and premium segments in emerging markets; OYO's brand equity, built through billions of dollars of past marketing spend, is an asset that does not appear on the balance sheet but has real commercial value

Disclaimer: The information presented on this page has been compiled from publicly available sources including MCA filings, audited annual reports of Oravel Stays Limited, credible financial news publications, and regulatory documents. It is intended solely for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation to buy or sell securities, or a recommendation of any kind. Investing in unlisted shares involves significant risks including but not limited to illiquidity, absence of regulated price discovery, potential loss of capital, IPO uncertainty, and dependence on future business outcomes that may not materialise as projected or guided by management. Prospective investors are strongly advised to conduct independent due diligence and consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor before making any investment decisions. Priveq.in does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information provided and accepts no liability for investment decisions made in reliance on this content. Past performance and management guidance are not guarantees of future results.