Mar 26, 2021 - Economy

WeWork to go public via SPAC

Dan Primack

WeWork said Friday that it has agreed to be taken public by a SPAC sponsored by Vivek Ranadivé's Bow Capital Management.

Why it matters: This is a sunny ending to a very dark year for WeWork, which was already under pressure before the pandemic crushed co-working.

By the numbers: The deal would give WeWork an implied valuation of around $9 billion.

That's a dramatic discount to its $47 billion valuation in early 2019, but a slight improvement on where WeWork was valued in a SoftBank-led bailout round later that same year.
In between was WeWork's abandoned IPO process, and the ouster of founding CEO, Adam Neumann.

Timing: Word of a SPAC deal for WeWork first surfaced weeks ago, and was expected to be announced sometime after SoftBank and Neumann reached a legal settlement related to a failed stock tender offer.

Deal details: The PIPE is an $800 million outlay from firms like Insight Partners, Starwood Capital Group, Centaurus Capital and Fidelity.

One source says that's an increase from the initial $500 million ask.
Other sources say the PIPE process moved a bit slower than expected, as part of a broader tightening of the PIPE market.

Once the deal is completed, WeWork will trade on the Nasdaq.

Add Axios on Google

WeWork to go public via SPAC

What to read next