OYO acquires Innov8 to enter co-working business with multi-brand approach

Hospitality firm OYO Tuesday announced entry into a new vertical, OYO Workspaces, targeting the co-working opportunity in India with an aim to have 50 centres across the country having a total seat count of around 35,000 by the end of 2019.

It also formally announced the acquisition of co-working firm Innov8 during the year. Currently, Innov8 has 16 centres across the country with over 6,000 seats.

While the companies did not disclose the financial details of the acquisition, according to the sources in know of the matter, Innov8 was acquired for around USD 30 million (about Rs 205 crore). The entire team of Innov8 has also joined OYO as part of the deal.

The debut of OYO Workspaces follows a multi-brand approach with introduction of three brands -- Innov8, which is an upper mid-scale brand, Powerstation, a mid-scale brand, and Workflo, which is an economy brand.

OYO Workspaces will open the doors to 21 workspaces, with over 15,000 seats across more than 10 cities.

"For 2019, we plan to have 50 centres that are operational across India, with a total of around 35,000 seats," OYO New Real Estate Businesses CEO Rohit Kapoor told PTI.

When asked about the investment OYO will be making on the expansion, he said the investment on this would be part of already-announced Rs 1,400 crore investment for India and South Asia for the year.

"OYO Workspaces is premised on the belief that there is a huge disconnect between demand and supply of quality managed co-working spaces" Kapoor said.

OYO Workspaces uses technology and operational expertise to fix this problem, he added.

While currently, Innov8 is the largest of three brands, Powerstation has one centre at Gurugram with over 1,000 seats and Workflo has set up four centres across NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru with over 1,500 seats.

OYO said as part of its Vision 2020, it plans to become the largest multi-brand co-working space in Asia.

"This alliance will work towards simplifying and strengthening the co-working experience for Indians while tapping the enormous opportunities this space offers," Innov8 founder Ritesh Malik said.