OYO founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal is set to boost his ownership in the hospitality chain by investing ₹550 crore (approximately $66 million). This move will increase Agarwal’s stake from 30% to 32% as OYO, headquartered in Gurugram, gears up for global growth.

Agarwal will acquire over 12.9 crore shares at ₹42.60 apiece through his affiliate, Redsprig Innovation Partners. This transaction values the company at ₹32,000 crore (around $3.8 billion), marking a 60% jump from its last valuation of ₹19,711 crore ($2.37 billion) during its previous funding round, though significantly lower than its $10 billion peak valuation in 2019.

The fresh funding will help finance OYO’s recent acquisition of G6 Hospitality, the US-based parent company of Motel 6 and Studio 6. The deal, announced in September, was an all-cash transaction worth ₹4,357 crore ($525 million). This acquisition strengthens OYO’s presence in the United States, where it operates over 320 hotels across 35 states. In 2023, OYO added nearly 100 hotels to its US portfolio and aims to expand by 250 more in 2024.

Agarwal’s investment proposal will be discussed during OYO’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on December 9. Notably, the share price for this transaction reflects a 45% premium compared to his last purchase in August 2024.

This development follows OYO’s ₹1,457 crore ($175 million) funding round earlier this year, which saw Agarwal contribute ₹830 crore ($99 million) through his Singapore-based entity, Patient Capital. The round also attracted prominent investors, including InCred Wealth, J&A Partners (the family office of Mankind Pharma promoters), ASK Financial Holdings, and investor Ashish Kacholia.

OYO’s financial performance continues to improve, reporting a net profit of ₹158 crore ($18.7 million) for the July-September quarter, supported by revenue of ₹1,578 crore, up 12% sequentially.

In the first half of FY25, the company achieved a net profit of ₹291 crore, reversing a ₹91 crore loss in the same period last year. Its EBITDA rose to ₹266 crore in Q2, a 27.4% increase from Q1.

For FY24, OYO reported its first-ever profit after tax (PAT) of ₹229 crore, along with eight consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA. The company’s adjusted EBITDA surged by 215% year-on-year, reaching ₹877 crore compared to ₹277 crore in FY23.

Agarwal’s increasing investment underscores his confidence in OYO’s growth trajectory as the company continues to strengthen its global presence and financial performance.