SoftBank And OYO JV To Start Japan Operations In September

Talking about new business expansions, SoftBank Corp noted its joint venture with Indian OYO Hotels & Homes (OYO) is scheduled to begin operations in Japan in September 2019. “It will conduct an innovative hotel business that leverages OYO’s hallmark features such as total consulting for hotels and AI-based dynamic pricing,” the Japanese conglomerate noted.

In April, OYO has announced the partnership with Tokyo-based SoftBank Corp. and SoftBank Vision Fund. The new venture will be led by Prasun Choudhary, VP Operations and Head South and East region at OYO as the operating partner.

Ken Miyauchi, president and CEO of SoftBank Corp. said, “Combining OYO’s most advanced business model with SoftBank Corp.’s knowledge of the Japanese market, we will provide brand-new hotel experience to travelers in Japan. Moreover, OYO Hotels Japan offers various values for owners such as dynamic pricing and reservation systems, contributing to the elimination of labor shortages and flexible pricing.”

Earlier in May, SoftBank reported that its investments in Flipkart and OYO have paid off with a gain of $2.7 Bn, split between realised and unrealised gains. OYO’s valuation has increased to $1.4Bn (¥154,189 Mn) in FY 2019.

Further, speaking at SoftBank Group’s 39th annual general meeting, CEO Masayoshi Son noted that the SoftBank Group’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBITDA) has crossed over $18.5 Bn (2 Tn JPY) in FY18. Son attributed this growth to its technology focused investment corpus SoftBank Vision Fund.

The technology-focused SoftBank Vision fund I was set up in 2017 with a total corpus of $100Bn. Some other SoftBank’s key investments in India include Ola, OYO, Hike, Paytm, FirstCry, Grofers, Delhivery, Automation Anywhere, and Paytm Mall.

Last month, SoftBank has also launched its second technology-focussed investment corpus, SoftBank Vision Fund II, with an outlay of $108 Bn. The fund has received commitments from technology majors such as Apple and Microsoft.

Masayoshi Son, CEO of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, has earlier projected that the firm’s portfolio could potentially grow 33-times to reach a $1.8 Tn (200 Tn JPY) valuation in the next two decades.