Hospitality firm OYO on Friday said its founder Ritesh Agarwal has signed a deal to buy back shares worth USD 2 billion (nearly Rs 13,770 crore) from early investors through his Cayman islands-registered entity, RA Hospitality Holdings, to almost triple his stake in the company.
Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia India, OYO’s early supporters, are selling part of their holdings in order to help the founder increase his stake while remaining invested significantly in the company’s long-term mission, OYO said in a statement.
“Company’s founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, through RA Hospitality Holdings (Cayman), has signed USD 2 billion primary and secondary management investment round, supported by global institutional banks and his financial partners,” it added.
As per sources in know of the matter, after the entire process is completed, Agarwal’s stake in the company will rise from the current 9-10 per cent to around 30 per cent. This would take the valuation of the company to around USD 10 billion.