Indian travel technology company OYO has announced its acquisition of MadeComfy, one of Australia’s leading short-term rental platforms, for an undisclosed amount.
The move comes as OYO seeks to expand in the high-yielding Australian and New Zealand rental market, the companies said Monday.
The deal combines OYO’s international reach and technology with MadeComfy’s local expertise in a market where the Australian company manages properties with a gross booking value exceeding $60 million.
MadeComfy will continue operating under its brand while gaining access to OYO’s revenue management platform and data-driven pricing algorithms, per the announcement.
The Australian firm works with nearly 100 real estate agencies and recently expanded into New Zealand. It plans to grow its agency partner network to more than 300.
Founded in 2015, MadeComfy provides a suite of tools to help agencies and homeowners optimise rental yields through data-driven insights and streamlined property management services.
“Over the past decade, we’ve built MadeComfy into a platform that truly understands the dynamics of short-term rentals in Australia and New Zealand,” said Quirin Schwaighofer, co-founder and co-CEO of MadeComfy.
OYO, which operates in over 35 countries and manages nearly 233,000 hotel and home storefronts globally, is backed by major investors including SoftBank, Airbnb, Microsoft, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
It has pursued strategic acquisitions to deepen its footprint across various regions, and the MadeComfy deal marks its first major entry into the ANZ short-term rental space.
Shreerang Godbole, OYO’s global chief service officer, said the acquisition creates a “strong synergy” between MadeComfy’s regional knowledge and OYO’s technology-driven approach.
“MadeComfy has built something truly impressive in the ANZ market, a platform that genuinely understands the unique needs of real estate agencies managing short-term rentals,” Godbole said.
In May, OYO withdrew its initial public offering (IPO) from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the second time and is reportedly in talks to raise $90 million, down 75% from its peak valuation.
The SoftBank-backed company had initially filed to go public in October 2021 for about $1 billion but delayed the share sale due to market conditions. On March 31, 2023, it submitted a confidential “pre-filing” document for a reportedly trimmed-down IPO.
Once valued at $10 billion, OYO is in talks with InCred to raise $80-90 million at a valuation of $3-4 billion, CNBC-TV 18 reported, citing sources.
