Co-working space unicorn WeWork looking to go public by September
Before entering the stock market, the unicorn startup is hoping to raise $5 billion to $6 billion through a bond offering, according to a report by Reuters.
Co-working space giant WeWork is planning to go public in September this year, much sooner than what most investors had expected. Valued at $47 billion, this might be the second biggest IPO this year, after ride-hailing startup Uber's IPO in May this year.
The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
WeWork’s IPO paperwork, which was filed confidentially last year, is expected to be disclosed next month (in August). WeWork also re-branded itself as 'The We Company' in January, which was first reported by Fast Company.
But before this, the unicorn startup is hoping to raise around $5 billion to $6 billion through a bond offering, according to a report by Reuters. Preparing for the IPO, the company is also hosting an 'analyst day' for Wall Street banks on July 31, said the report.
Earlier, Adam Neumann, WeWork CEO and Co-founder, cashed out $700 million from the company through a mix of stock sales and debt, reported The Wall Street Journal.
In addition to this, he reportedly made huge investments in real estate, which amounts to $80 million. This includes four homes in the greater New York metropolitan area, and one house in the Bay Area as well. He has also set up a family office and hired financial professionals for it.
Founded in 2011, The We Company has raised a total of $8.4 billion through debt and equity funding, and operates three business verticals - WeWork, WeLive, and WeGrow.
In January this year, the unicorn raised $6 billion from SoftBank, valuing the startup at $47 billion. WeWork's biggest investor SoftBank had invested $4.4 billion in the firm in 2017, at a time when WeWork incurred a loss of $2 billion.
Last fiscal, the SoftBank-backed company reported a net loss of $1.9 billion of $1.8 billion in revenue in 2018.
Similarly, when San Francisco-based Uber went public, it was one of the most highly-anticipated IPOs of all time. The ride hailing giant reported a loss of $1 billion on a $3.1 billion revenue in the first quarter of 2019.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)
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