Hospitality giant OYO has acquired Paris-based premium rental homes company Checkmyguest for INR 230 Crore ($27.4 Million) in a cash and stock deal. The acquisition comes just days after OYO secured INR 1,457 Crore (approximately $175 Million) in a down round.
Checkmyguest, which was previously valued at $110 Million, was founded in 2016 by Julien Madar, Joffrey Ichbia, and Kevin Cohen. The company offers a range of vacation rental properties, including homestays and luxury apartments. The acquisition also includes the housing renovation business HMG, formerly known as Helpmyguest, and luxury rental apartment management company Studio Prestige.
According to The Arc’s report, the size of the cash payout for the deal has not been disclosed. However, it was revealed that OYO acquired the company through the issuance of 7.92 Crore Series G CCPS. The deal is expected to significantly enhance OYO’s inventory of premium homes, particularly in Paris, where Checkmyguest has a strong presence.
“We are delighted to announce that Checkmyguest is now part of OYO, one of the largest hotel groups worldwide. This merger is a major milestone for us and opens up incredible opportunities in terms of development, new markets, and careers,” said Joffrey Ichbia, co-founder of Checkmyguest, in a LinkedIn post confirming the deal.
An OYO spokesperson commented on the acquisition, stating, “OYO gets to acquire an inventory of premium homes primarily through a share swap over a period. The deal would also involve some cash outgo, which gets quickly offset since it’s a cash-generating business.”
OYO, founded in 2012 by Ritesh Agarwal, has rapidly expanded its footprint in the global hospitality market. The company’s recent earnings report highlighted its plans for continued global expansion, with the acquisition of Checkmyguest being a key part of this strategy. OYO’s hotel count grew to 18,103 at the end of FY24, up from 12,938 hotels at the end of the previous fiscal year.
Earlier this month, OYO raised INR 1,457 Crore in a down round led by Ritesh Agarwal’s Singapore-based entity Patient Capital, along with J&A Partners and ASK Financial Holdings, reducing its valuation to $2.37 Billion. Despite this, the company claimed its first profitable fiscal year in 2023-24 (FY24), reporting a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 229.57 Crore, compared to a loss of INR 1,286.51 Crore in the previous fiscal year.
However, OYO’s revenue from operations saw a slight decline of 1.3%, dropping to INR 5,388.78 Crore in FY24 from INR 5,463.94 Crore in FY23. The company attributed this decrease to new additions to its inventory of hotels during the fiscal year.