OYO has turned out to be the most fascinating startups from India with huge global aspiration. Ever since its launch in China in early 2018, the SoftBank-backed firm has been expanding into several countries.
Marking its second offshore acquisition, it has acquired Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group to strengthen its holiday homes vertical in Europe.
@Leisure Group runs multiple brands including Belvilla, DanCenter, and Danland which offers 30,000 managed holiday homes across 13 countries in Europe. It also operates subscription-based home management service with over 85,000 homes across 50 countries under Traum-Ferienwohnungen brand.
While OYO didn’t disclose the amount involved in the acquisition, a Financial Times report mentions that the deal size is in tune of $415 million cash. Looks like it’s the largest acquisition made by an Indian consumer Internet company ever. Last month, it acquired a smaller rival Qianyu in China.
The acquisition will help OYO in its aspiration to become the largest full-stack real estate company worldwide. Similar to OYO, @Leisure Group follows a full-stack approach to vacation rentals management.
OYO’s full stack fulfillment led model allows it to control each component involved in delivering a consistent experience. OYO had launched holiday home rental service – OYO Home in 2017 and has about 15,000 villas and apartment units globally.
At present, OYO claims to have over 18,000 buildings and 636,000 units under management and more than 40,000-holiday homes. When it comes to Europe, OYO operates in Spain, Portugal, UK, Germany, Amsterdam, and a few others. With @Leisure Group, it has a presence in almost every major city in the entire continent.
Acquisition of @Leisure Group heralds OYO’s aggressive global aspiration ranging from China, the US, Europe to Japan. Going forward, it would be interesting to see how @Leisure Group deal helps Ritesh Agarwal-led company in establishing a formidable presence across Europe.
