<article>SoftBank-backed budget hotel chain <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Oyo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oyo</a> is in talks to acquire Keys Hotels in India from US private equity and venture capital firm <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Berggruen Holdings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berggruen Holdings</a>, The Economic Times <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/oyo-in-talks-with-la-firm-to-buy-keys-hotels/articleshow/67906486.cms">reported</a>.</article>

SoftBank-backed budget hotel chain <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Oyo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oyo</a> is in talks to acquire Keys Hotels in India from US private equity and venture capital firm <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Berggruen Holdings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berggruen Holdings</a>, The Economic Times <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/oyo-in-talks-with-la-firm-to-buy-keys-hotels/articleshow/67906486.cms">reported</a>.
The $2-billion Berggruen Holdings is the owner of Berggruen Hotels in India, which was founded in September 2006 to build and operate business hotels under the Keys brand.
Keys Hotels, which has a portfolio of about 21 hotels across 19 locations pan India including Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Gurugram, and Mahabaleshwar, has an estimated debt of about Rs 160 crore. The company had been scouting for buyers for a few years now, and was seeking a valuation of $125 million, the report added.
However, another <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/oyo-in-talks-with-us-berggruen-holdings-to-acquire-keys-hotels-in-india-reports/">report</a> in INC42 said, the acquisition talks have been denied by Oyo. &#8220;This is baseless speculation,&#8221; the report said quoting OYO spokesperson.
&#8220;Our acquisition strategy is targeted towards acquiring entities that assist us in building capabilities. We, therefore, look at selective but strategic investments that help build capabilities rather than just scale. We do not have any further announcements to make at the moment,&#8221; the spokesperson said.
Oyo, which has been expanding aggressively operations within India and overseas locations such as China, Malaysia, UK, UAE, Indonesia, Philippines and the US, was recently also in talks to acquire shared workspace startup Innov8 for about Rs200 crore in an all-cash deal.
In August last year, it had reportedly fully acquired Mumbai-based Weddingz, an online marketplace for wedding venues and vendors, in a cash-and-stock deal. In March, Oyo acquired Chennai-based serviced apartments company Novascotia Boutique Homes and rechristened as SilverKey.
Oyo, run by Oravel Stays Pvt Ltd, was recently in the news for testing waters in the US. The company has reportedly opened an office in Dallas, and grown workforce to almost 30, The Information reported last week. It has started to renovate motels and no-frills hotels around Texas.
Gurugram-based unicorn startup Oyo has raised a total of $1.6 billion across multiple funding rounds till date, according to Crunchbase. It last raised $100 million in a Series E round of funding from Singapore ride-hailing company Grab to expand its services in Southeast Asia.
Also Read:
<a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/oyo-expansion-us-office-120284/">Indian hotel chain Oyo continues global expansion spree, opens US office</a>
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The acquisition talks have, however, been denied by Oyo calling it a mere speculation. Keys Hotels has an estimated debt of about Rs 160 crore

India's Oyo Rooms in talks to acquire Keys Hotels from Berggruen: Report

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India's Oyo Rooms in talks to acquire Keys Hotels from Berggruen: Report

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