NEW DELHI: Amid rumors that OYO may shelve its IPO plans, the hospitality service provider is making major managerial changes. Rohit Kapoor, the current CEO - India & Southeast Asia - will now be the company's global marketing head.
Global Chief Business Officer Ankit Tandon will take on the additional responsibility of Southeast Asia with specific focus on Indonesia and the Middle East region as its CEO. Ankit Gupta, currently the CEO of Hotels and Homes - India will take on the role of CEO - India.
All three executives are taking the new responsibilities from 1st April 2022 and will report to the founder & Group CEO, Ritesh Agarwal. The change comes at a time when it is reported that the Softbank-backed OYO is considering slashing its fundraising target by half or even suspending its IPO plan.
OYO had filed its draft paper September last year for a Rs 8,430 crore initial public offering (IPO) but is yet to receive approval from market regulator SEBI.
Add to it, Zo Rooms and Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) have asked the regulator not to approve the IPO. According to a report by news agency Bloomberg, OYO operator Oravel Stays could clip its Indian IPO from the nearly USD 1 billion initially sought to half that and is considering also halving its expected valuation from the USD 12 billion originally targeted. OYO could even decide to suspend its IPO plans, the report said, citing unnamed people familiar with the development.
This also comes at a time when new-age companies, especially one which are yet to report profit, have fared poorly on the domestic stock exchanges and emerged as one the biggest wealth destroyers. Zomato, which was the first loss-making new-age company to launch IPO in July 2021, has lost over 35 per cent of its value since its blockbuster debut while Paytm shares are trading at just one-third of its issue price.
New-age companies faring poorly on exchanges
Zomato, which was the first loss-making new-age company to launch IPO in July 2021, has lost over 35% of its value since its blockbuster debut while Paytm shares are trading at just one-third of its issue price.