Latham & Watkins represents Indian hospitality startup OYO on debt financing

Latham & Watkins represents Indian hospitality startup OYO on debt financing

The capital worth $660 million was raised through Term Loan B debt offering

The US-based international law firm Latham & Watkins represented the Indian tech hospitality startup OYO in groundbreaking debt financing. $660 million was raised through Term Loan B debt financing that would enable the company to further strengthen its core hospitality business.

The milestone transaction makes OYO the first Indian startup to raise capital using a Term Loan B instrument, as well as the first Indian startup to receive public ratings from Moody's and Fitch.

According to a Latham press release, the debt offering was significantly oversubscribed and was ultimately upsized given strong interest from institutional investors.

OYO plans to use the funds to refinance its existing facilities with long-term capital and to further strengthen its balance sheet.

Founded by young entrepreneur Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, OYO is an Indian multinational hospitality chain of leased and franchised hotels, homes and living spaces. Starting as an online booking platform for budget hotels, OYO has expanded as a global platform that empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses with hotels and homes by providing full-stack technology that increases earnings and eases operations.

The Latham & Watkins deal team was led by Singapore partners Timothy Hia and Rajiv Gupta with associates Wen Yi Tan, Helen Liu and Aakash Sardana. Additional advice was provided by Chicago partner Nabil Sabki with associate John Reinert, while advice on tax matters was provided by New York partner Jiyeon Lee-Lim and Chicago partner Enrique Rene de Vera.