SoftBank CEO to attend OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal’s wedding. PM Modi invited too

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is expected to visit India next week

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son will attend the wedding of OYO founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal in India next week, Bloomberg has reported. This will be a rare social outing for the Japanese billionaire whose company is among the biggest backers of OYO. Others who are expected to attend the high-profile event include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

Masayoshi Son’s visit is likely to be a short one in bio-bubble, the report indicated. It will be his first trip to India since 2018, and also one of his first trips outside of Japan since the pandemic.

SoftBank is the biggest investor in hospitality chain OYO, which Agarwal launched in 2013. Masayoshi Son has been a mentor to Agarwal for almost a decade, even providing a personal guarantee to his $2 billion loan which allowed the 29-year-old to increase his stake in OYO in 2019, the report added.

Son is also expected to meet founders of SoftBank portfolio companies, both public and private, during his trip to Delhi. “Son will be meeting in-person with some of the founders for the first time as a bunch of these investments took place post 2019,” a person with knowledge of the matter told Economic Times.

Ritesh Agarwal’s wedding will take place next week. The OYO founder had earlier invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his wedding, paying him a visit along with his mother and fiancée. Agarwal will host a reception at a five-star hotel in New Delhi after the wedding.