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Oyo, the once high-flying Indian budget hotel chain, has withdrawn its IPO application from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the second time in a fresh blow to its already diminished ambitions.<\/p>\n
The Gurugram-headquartered startup, which at its peak commanded a valuation of $10 billion<\/a>, pulled the plug on its IPO plans on May 17, according to a disclosure<\/a> on the regulator\u2019s website. Oyo had initially filed paperwork with SEBI in 2021<\/a> for a public listing but withdrew it and refiled in 2023.<\/p>\n SEBI has yet to approve either of Oyo\u2019s applications, which raises questions about the startup\u2019s readiness to face public scrutiny. Oyo has been scrambling to secure a new round of funding<\/a> at a valuation of $3 billion or less, TechCrunch reported earlier this month. Oyo had denied that it was raising capital at that valuation. <\/p>\n However, the company is now attempting to raise money at a valuation as low as $2 billion to $2.3 billion, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. It has raised more than $3 billion in equity and debt to date.<\/p>\n Oyo, backed by SoftBank, Peak XV, Lightspeed, Airbnb and Microsoft, was once hailed as a disruptor in the budget hotel industry. But in recent years, the startup has been criticized<\/a> for its business practices, and in 2020 even laid off thousands of employees<\/a> to cut costs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n