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Australia: Sydney short-term rental management platform MadeComfy has been acquired by Oyo.
The deal gives Oyo, which was founded by 31-year-old Indian billionaire Ritesh Agarwal, access to the Australian and New Zealand markets. It already operates in more than 35 countries, managing nearly 233,000 properties and is backed by SoftBank, Airbnb, Microsoft, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
The deal is reportedly worth $50 million in cash and shares in Oyo’s parent company, Oravel Stays. The MadeComfy brand will continue.
MadeComfy was founded in 2015 and took on around $20 million in VC investments. In 2023 it raised $10 million in venture capital and debt in a round led by Commencer Capital, and previously raised $1.1 million in 2017 and then $6 million in 2018 from Investec.
Its investors include Amaysim cofounders Rolf Hansen and Peter O’Connell, former LinkedIn ANZ MD Cliff Rosenberg, former REA Group CFO Georg Chmiel, MC Fiduciary and BridgeLane Capital.
MadeComfy’s platform helps around 100 real estate agencies manage short-term rental properties more efficiently. The platform recently expanded into New Zealand and now manages around 1300 properties across the two countries, with an annual Gross Booking Value (GBV) of more than $60 million.
Oyo says its revenue management platform and pricing algorithms will enhance MadeComfy’s ability to maximise yields for property partners.
Cofounder and co-CEO Quirin Schwaighofer said the sale “is a great outcome and opportunity” for their customers, real estate partners and shareholders. “This deal brings together two businesses that really complement each other,” he said.
“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. Joining forces with Oyo gives us the global scale and technology muscle to take that vision further, faster.”
Oyo chief service officer Shreerang Godbole said: “What excites us most is how their local market expertise combined with our global technology infrastructure and revenue management capabilities will create a compelling value proposition for property partners.”
MadeComfy hopes to grow its network to more than 300 real estate agency partners in the next few years, offer more corporate accommodation options, and to launch in other countries within Oyo’s network.
