Amidst global expansion, OYO gets $100 Mn push from Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing

After raising $800 million from Softbank, Budget hotel chain OYO has raked in another $100 million round led by Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.

The latest funds raised will be primarily deployed for its expansion in China, where OYO has done a commendable job. A significant part of the fund raised will also be used for India operations.

The investment marks OYO's closing of $1 billion round that was announced last year at a valuation of $5 billion.

According to an ET report,  Star Virtue Investment that is controlled by Didi Chuxing has made the investment in the Ritesh Agarwal-led company. The investment could be a part of a strategic partnership as both companies are looking to grow globally.

This is the second instance when OYO gets backing from a country's ride-hailing company where it looks to expand in. Last year, Singapore-based Grab had infused a similar amount in the Gurugram-headquartered company.

Importantly, the trio counts Softbank as a common investor.

The development comes soon after OYO's appointment of new management heads for several countries. For China, OYO has roped in Sam Shi as Chief Operating Officer.

Shi along with Wilson Li acting as Chief Financial Officer, Jia Zou as Chief Technology Officer, and Tony Liang as Chief Human Resource Officer will directly report to Agarwal as he is overseeing China operations in his personal capacity.

Oyo Jiudian - the company's China operation is currently present in 280 cities with more than 5,000 hotels and 260,000 rooms. The entity runs a mix of franchised and leased properties in China.

Apart from China, OYO also forayed into several countries in a span of 12 months. Started with Dubai, it picked up South Asian and European markets for further expansion. The hotel chain is now present in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, London, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and the Philippines.

Most recently, the company launched its operations in the United States of America.

Globally, OYO claimed to have 4.58 lakh rooms by the end of 2018 and the realised value run rate stood at $1.8 billion. The company's recent press statement revealed that the global stayed room nights saw a 4.3X year on year growth from 6 million in December 2016 to 75 million in December 2018.

In India, OYO's revenue recorded a 3.5X jump in FY18 from Rs 120 crore in FY17 to Rs 416 crore. For FY19, the company again projects a 3X jump in revenue to Rs 1,500 crore.