Coworking company WeWork will officially start trading on the stock market today, two years after its first attempt came crashing down.
In 2019, WeWork tried to go public under the leadership of cofounder and former CEO Adam Neumann with a staggering $47 billion valuation.
However, after concerns were raised about the company’s colossal growth, massive losses, and questionable management styles, investors quickly jumped the seemingly sinking ship.
Since then, Neumann has been ousted, and new leaders have taken over to repair the company’s expenses and reputation. However, the operator still has large growth targets, losses, and empty desks.
“We are the right company, at the right time,” Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork, told investors last month. “I joined this company with an upside-down cost structure. Over the past 20 months, we have focused on streamlining our operating expenses and right-sizing our real estate portfolio.”
Rather than taking the initial public offering route, WeWork is entering the public market via merging with special purpose acquisition company BowX Acquisition Corp.
It will trade under the ticker WE and is anticipated to raise up to $1.3 billion with a $8 billion valuation.
As the global workforce embraces hybrid and remote working arrangements, WeWork is attempting to serve as an alternative solution to working from home woes.
