1.WeWork IPO…Second Biggest Offering of the Year….$1.9B in Losses Last Year.
The co-working company told employees yesterday that it has confidentially filed paperwork with the SEC to go public.
WeWork reportedly hasn’t picked bankers yet, and an offering wouldn’t happen until the third or fourth quarter of this year. But there’s more you should know about 2019’s latest mega-offering.
It’s as meaty as a WeWork company card will allow
A WeWork IPO would likely be the second-biggest offering in the U.S. this year behind Uber. WeWork was last valued at $47 billion and has 400,000 members in 100 cities.
- Still, it’s burning through cash. Though WeWork’s revenue doubled last year to $1.8 billion, its losses more than doubled to $1.9 billion.
It’s not just WeWork
It’s the We Company after a rebranding earlier this year to focus on more than just the short-term office space rental service that (along with its notorious tenant Morning Brew) made it famous. Now, it’s diversified into businesses like housing, a children’s school, and a coding academy.
Wherefore the rebrand? Fend off skepticism over WeWork’s ability to withstand a market downturn, when fewer D2C birdseed startups will look for low-commitment office space. But we may always need apartments for “modern-day nomads.”
And speaking of skeptics…there are plenty. WeWork is a “love it or hate it” company, writes Axios. A “person close to the company” told Axios WeWork could become the second-most shorted stock after Tesla.
But as for believers…
WeWork is no mere co-working company. It serves a higher purpose.
From CEO Adam Neumann: “As one of the world’s largest physical networks, it is our responsibility to help lead the way and set the global example for people and corporations on how we should take care of each other and of our planet.”
