WeWork announced on Friday it plans to enter public markets through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company — and at a huge discount to what the startup was once worth.
The move comes after WeWork’s failed attempt to go public in 2019 and dramatic fall in its valuation.
About Company
WeWork is an American commercial real estate company that provides flexible shared workspaces for technology startups and services for other enterprises.
WeWork designs and builds physical and virtual shared spaces and office services for entrepreneurs and companies.
Valuation
The transaction values WeWork at an initial enterprise value of approximately $9 billion, WeWork said on Friday.
The transaction will provide WeWork with approximately $1.3 billion of cash which will enable the company to fund its growth plans into the future.
WeWork was once valued at $47 billion, making it one of the most valuable unicorn startups in the world.
Company’s Performance
WeWork’s 2020 sales, excluding China, were flat compared to 2019 at $3.2 billion. (WeWork sold a majority stake in its China business last year.)
It has a pipeline of $4 billion in sales for 2021, with an estimated $1.5 billion of that as already committed revenue.
Comment
Marcelo Claure, the SoftBank CEO and executive chairman of WeWork. “SoftBank has always seen the potential in WeWork’s core business to disrupt the commercial real estate industry and reimagine the workplace. Today, we take another step towards making that vision a reality.”
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