WeWork agrees to go public via $9 bln SPAC deal - WSJ (updated)

Wework

26/03/2021 10:34

(Adds background, details from report)
    March 26 (Reuters) - WeWork has agreed to go public through
a merger with blank-check firm BowX Acquisition Corp  BOWX.O 
that values the office-sharing startup at $9 billion including
debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people
familiar with the matter. 
     The company disclosed to prospective investors it had lost
about $3.2 billion last year as part of a pitch for a stock
market listing by merging with a special purpose acquisition
company (SPAC), sources told Reuters earlier this week.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2LK49P
    The office-sharing startup's plans for its high-profile
initial public offering imploded in October 2019 due to investor
concerns over the office-sharing startup's business model and
its founder Adam Neumann's management style.
    The company is also raising $1.3 billion in capital,
including $800 million in private investment from Insight
Partners, funds managed by Starwood Capital Group, Fidelity
Management and others, the Journal reported https://bit.ly/3tX1nBQ.
    WeWork did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
    A SPAC is a shell firm that uses proceeds from an IPO to buy
a private firm. 
    WeWork was valued at nearly $47 billion in 2019 but saw its
valuation plummet to roughly $8 billion after SoftBank was
forced to extend a life-saving financing lifeline to WeWork.
    BowX Acquisition raised $420 million in its IPO in August
last year.

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M.)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))