It is now official that Oyo, one of the best known hospitality sector names, has appointed Sumer Juneja as a non-executive director. This comes days after he was inducted as an additional director on the board of the company, representing SoftBank. The appointment was born from the resolution passed by the board of Oyo, the company mentioned in a filing at the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
PC: Board Stewardship
Sumer Juneja joined the Oyo team with vast experience; he was the managing director at SoftBank’s investment advisors for EMEA & India. He is responsible for the investments on behalf of SoftBank, and he sits on the board of some of the most prominent companies, which include the likes of Lenskart, Swiggy, Eruditus, and Unacademy. At SoftBank, Juneja was earlier a partner at Norwest Venture and worked in the Goldman Sachs Asia special situations group, adding to his strategic investment experience in corporate structuring and corporate governance.
The appointment comes at a critical time for Oyo, which is gearing to transform into a public limited company via an initial public offering. The startup recently completed a $175 million Series G round led by Patient Capital, an entity operated by Oyo’s founder Ritesh Agarwal in Singapore. That round valued Oyo at $2.4 billion, down from the peak valuation of $9.6 billion in August last year when it raised $5 million from Microsoft.
The strong business turnaround despite a drop in valuation can easily be supported with numerous instances. As of fiscal year 2024, Oyo reported a profit of Rs 230 crore on operating revenue of Rs 5,389 crore. This is after recording massive losses of Rs 1,286 crore in the previous fiscal year. The positive financial performance below only proves the strategic efforts of Oyo in stabilizing and growing its business amid harsh market conditions.
It is lining up other strategic initiatives through which it can exercise more control on the operations of its partners to enhance the budget hotel experience. The company said it was actively managing services, including laundry and room service, thus ensuring standard quality across all Oyo properties. Another breakaway it has made under the luxury accommodation segment is “Sunday”. Sunday Hotel operates three hotels in Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad, and is a joint venture company of OYO’s parent and its biggest backer SoftBank. The company plans to have 25 properties open in India by the close of financial year 2025.
As Oyo gears up to re-file its IPO papers after a significant funding round, the company is well-placed to tap into growth opportunities in the hospitality sector. This energetic company, which has pulled out its draft papers (DRHP) on two separate occasions-the last one being in May due to weak market conditions-shows caution in line with that of.
The induction of Sumer Juneja as non-executive director is, therefore, a strategic move in tune with Oyo’s bigger goals of not just improving governance but also harnessing the wide network and expertise that SoftBank offers. Even as the company remains on course to fine-tuning its operational strategies and subsequently to growing its market presence, Oyo keeps assuring its shareholders about value addition and building capability into service delivery in the competitive hospitality landscape.
