Singapore ride-hailing company Grab is in advanced talks to invest $100 million (Rs 697.7 crore) in OYO Hotels & Homes as part of the Indian hospitality chain’s ongoing $1 billion funding round.
Grab is expected to close the deal over the next few days, according to two people briefed on the matter. Grab and OYO, both of which count SoftBank as one of their primary investors, have identified Indonesia as a key market for growth.
Grab, which has been going head-to-head with Indonesia’s ride-hailing and logistics startup Go-Jek, has stated its intention of entering sectors ranging from grocery delivery to healthcare, according to a report by Bloomberg.
OYO announced the launch of its operations in Indonesia in October last year. At the time, the Ritesh Agarwal-led company started with 30 full-inventory franchised and operated exclusive hotels and over 1,000 rooms in Jakarta, Surabaya and Palembang. It also stated plans of investing $100 million in Indonesia and will look to launch in over 35 cities by 2019.
“Indonesia is one of the top choices for both global and Indian travellers and with our market learnings and expertise, we are ready to tap this opportunity,” Agarwal said.
Grab’s planned investment in OYO would be at the same valuation – $5 billion – that the hospitality chain commanded in September, when an investor consortium led by SoftBank Vision Fund pumped in $800 million and vaulted it into the Unicorn club – startups worth $1 billion and more.