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OYO wins relief as Delhi HC rejects Zostel stake award

EntrackrEntrackr · 2m ago
OYO wins relief as Delhi HC rejects Zostel stake award
Medial

After years of legal back-and-forth, the Delhi High Court has ruled in favour of travel-tech firm OYO, setting aside an arbitral award in its long-standing dispute with Zostel Hospitality, the parent company of ZO Rooms. The court held that OYO did not breach any agreement during the failed acquisition talks with Zostel. The judgment backs OYO’s claim that it never took over any part of Zostel’s business. It also said that the kind of agreement they had — one that could be called off — cannot be legally enforced. The High Court also rejected Zostel’s request to carry out the earlier arbitration order. The dispute started back in November 2015, when OYO signed a non-binding, exploratory term sheet with Zostel to potentially acquire its business. The deal, however, fell through after due diligence failed, and both sides couldn't agree on final terms. Zostel initiated arbitration in September 2018 — nearly three years after the talks — which resulted in a March 2021 arbitral award that OYO promptly challenged. In February 2022, the Delhi High Court had already denied Zostel’s plea for an injunction. The latest ruling firmly closes the chapter, stating that no definitive agreements were signed and no consensus was reached on essential commercial terms. “This vindicates our long-held position,” an OYO spokesperson said in a statement, reaffirming that there was no binding agreement between the parties. However, earlier this month, the Hospitality firm reportedly postponed its planned October IPO following objections from its major investor SoftBank, which consists of a fresh issue worth Rs 7,000 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of Rs 1,430 crore.

SoftBank’s Sumer Juneja joins Oyo board as non-executive director

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
SoftBank’s Sumer Juneja joins Oyo board as non-executive director
Medial

Hospitality major Oyo has officially appointed Sumer Juneja as a non-executive director. The development comes a month after he joined the firm’s board as additional director, representing SoftBank. The board at Oyo has passed a resolution to appoint Juneja as a non-executive director, the firm’s regulatory filing sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Juneja is managing director of EMEA & India at SoftBank’s investment advisors. He sits on multiple companies’ boards on behalf of SoftBank including Lenskart, Swiggy, Eruditus and Unacademy. Prior to SoftBank, Juneja was a partner at Norwest Venture and a member of Goldman Sachs Asia special situations group. The IPO-bound company recently closed its $175 million Series G round led by Patient Capital — an entity run by Oyo’s Ritesh Agarwal in Singapore — at a post-money valuation of $2.4 billion. Oyo’s valuation declined 70% from its peak valuation of $9.6 billion in August 2021, when the firm raised $5 million from Microsoft. The hospitality firm made a turnaround in business by churning profit of Rs 230 crore with an operating revenue of Rs 5,389 crore in FY24. For background, the firm bore a loss of Rs 1,286 crore in FY23. Recently, Oyo said that it will refile the IPO papers after concluding a large funding round. In May, it withdrew its draft papers (DRHP) for the second time in the wake of unfavorable conditions. For a better experience in the budget hotel segment, Oyo has been working to get more control on operations of its partners. As per sources, the Gurugram-based company is looking after the services such as laundry and room service. The company also got into luxury accommodation with the brand name ‘Sunday’ which currently operates in three cities —Jaipur, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. Sunday Hotel is a joint venture between Oyo’ parent company and its largest backer SoftBank. Sunday Hotel plans to open 25 properties in India by the end of FY25.

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