OYO’s employees to get 2,000 more stock options: Report

Oravel Stays Pvt. Ltd, which runs budget hospitality chain OYO, has strengthened its employee stock ownership (ESOP) plan by adding 2,000 more stock options to the existing pool, a report in The Economic Times stated.

The total number of stock options issued by the company to its employees now stands at 8,893. OYO’s board passed this resolution on 3 October 2018, the report added.

A spokesperson from OYO confirmed the development to TechCircle, stating, "We introduced the (ESOP) plan in July 2018 and keeping in mind our growth trajectory, have strengthened the existing ESOP pool by adding 2,000 stock options to it."

In September this year, OYO had raised $1 billion (around Rs 7,300 then) in a fresh funding round from existing investors led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. The round valued the Ritesh Agarwal-led firm at $5 billion. OYO said it would use these funds to expand its operations in China.

Since its $1-billion fundraise, OYO has also entered UAE and Indonesia. It also has operations in UK and Malaysia.

Earlier this month, OYO appointed Aditya Ghosh, the former president of budget carrier IndiGo, as chief executive officer to head its operations in India and South Asia.

Last month, it entered the home rental segment by launching a new vertical called OYO Living, which offers shared accommodation to professionals and students.

OYO has also acquired a number of startups this year—online marketplace Weddingz.in, Internet of Things technology company AblePlus Solutions Pvt. Ltd and service apartment company Novascotia Boutique Homes.

The Gurugram-headquartered company claims to be present in over 350 cities with more than 12,000 asset owners spread across six countries.