WeWork, the coworking space startup with a $47 billion valuation, is looking to go public in September, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday, which cited people familiar with the company’s plans.
That is much earlier than what most people on Wall Street had anticipated. WeWork is expected to be the second biggest initial public offering this year, following Uber’s market debut back in May.
The New York-based unicorn filed paperwork to go public with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the end of last year, though sources say management is yet to hire underwriters. According to the Journal, WeWork executives want to list the company on September as they fear that the stock market rally may not keep going.
WeWork is set to meet bank analysts later this month and make its IPO documents public in August, according to the report. The company was founded by Miguel McKelvey, 45, and Adam Neumann, 40, nine years ago. WeWork leases big office spaces, divides in smaller portions, and rents them out to businesses.
The firm offers perks such as free crafted beers, coffees, and snacks to its clients. It is present in more than 25 countries including in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, France, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Germany, and Hong Kong.
Mr. Neumann is the chief executive of the WeWork, while Mr. McKelvey serves as the company’s chief culture officer. The two are reportedly worth $7 billion between them, though their company is yet to turn a profit due to its rapid expansion efforts.
Last year, the company recorded a net loss of $1.9 billion, up from $933 million in the previous year. However, revenue rose to $1.8 billion from $886 million in calendar 2017.
The company is backed by Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group Corp, but has received cash injections from JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and other investors including T Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) and Fidelity.
