OYO To Rename Parent Entity, Seeks Suggestions From Public

OYO founder and chief executive officer Ritesh Agarwal has sought name suggestions for its parent entity Oravel Stays Limited as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO).

Agarwal has invited “brand thinkers, creatives, entrepreneurs and curious minds” to suggest a new corporate name through social media.

“We’re renaming the corporate brand behind it all. Not the hotel chain, not a consumer product — but the parent company powering a global ecosystem of urban innovation and modern living. We believe it’s time the world had a new kind of global brand — born in India, but built for the world,” he said in an X post.

The company is seeking a one-word name that is globally relevant, culturally neutral, technology-oriented, and scalable beyond the hospitality sector. 

Agarwal also noted that the ideal name should come with an available .com domain. A reward of INR 3 Lakh and a meeting with him have been offered for the selected entry.

A PTI report, citing sources, said that there is a high possibility that the name chosen through the exercise may end up being the name of the premium hotels app that OYO has been working to launch in the near future.

New Timeline For OYO’s Public Listing 

This comes close on the heels of OYO planning to file its IPO papers between August and September this year and is in talks with multiple investment banks to potentially raise $6-7 Bn in valuation. The company is targeting a listing in the March quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (FY26).

This marks OYO’s third attempt at going public after shelving its plans in 2022 and 2024. 

Meanwhile, a Business Standard report said that the startup has asked five investment banks – Citi, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, ICICI Securities and Axis Capital – to meet its key shareholder SoftBank next month.

For the IPO, SoftBank is looking to understand the key positioning strategies, expected valuation metrics and anticipated investor appetite, the report added. 

Agarwal’s announcement also comes weeks after it was reported that SoftBank had advised OYO to put its IPO plans on hold for a few months. 

While OYO was earlier said to be targeting a listing by October this year, the company extended the timeline to March 2026 post SoftBank’s intervention, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier, it was reported that there was creditors’ pressure on Agarwal to expedite the IPO process. For context, he had taken a $2.2 Bn loan in 2019, personally guaranteed by SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, to increase his stake in OYO. The restructured loan included a $383 Mn installment due in December 2025. 

On the financial front, OYO’s net profit more than doubled year-on-year in FY25. In a town hall meeting earlier this month, Agarwal claimed that the startup’s net profit jumped 172% to INR 623 Cr in FY25 from INR 229 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Its top line grew 20% to INR 6,463 Cr from INR 5,388.7 Cr in FY24.