MUMBAI, July 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Oyo Hotels & Homes is making an impressive comeback. Microsoft (MSFT.O) is planning read more to invest in the Indian startup at a $9 billion valuation ahead of its planned initial public offering. The price tag would be on par with the SoftBank-backed (9984.T) group’s last big private marker before the pandemic disrupted its global operations and forced a reset .

Founder Ritesh Agarwal is tracing the footsteps of his peer, Airbnb’s (ABNB.O) Brian Chesky. Just like the way the U.S. company raised $2 billion in crisis financing, earlier this month Oyo sold a well-subscribed $660 million loan in the U.S. market.

Roughly matching an earlier valuation augurs well too. While the American initially marketed his company’s worth at up to $30 billion in a December 2020 listing - in line with its last private valuation in 2017 – he eventually increased read more that to $41 billion. Airbnb’s market capitalisation is now more than double that. Oyo might hope to eventually achieve a similar uplift.

Microsoft’s backing will be an endorsement. The bigger the investment, the more weight its implied valuation will carry. (By Una Galani)

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