WeWork Plans To Kick Off IPO Roadshow As Soon As Next Week

WeWork is planning to kick off its initial public offering roadshow as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The office rental company’s meetings with potential IPO-investors are expected to involve stops in cities such as New York and San Francisco, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. Dates for the roadshow could still change, the people said.

A representative for WeWork, whose parent is the We Co., declined to comment.

WeWork, which filed to go public last month, is targeting a share sale of about $3.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter said in July. It has also secured a commitment letter for a credit facility of as much as $6 billion, according to its IPO filing. That financing is contingent on its IPO being a success.

WeWork’s listing might be second this year only to Uber Technologies Inc.’s $8.1 billion IPO in May.

WeWork’s IPO plans filed Aug. 14 were greeted by sometimes blistering criticism. Triton Research Inc. Chief Executive Officer Rett Wallace called the company’s prospectus a “masterpiece of obfuscation,” saying it obscured key details needed to understand the economics of its business.

Funding, Losses

WeWork, which leases and owns spaces in office buildings and then rents desks to companies ranging from startups to large corporations, has raised more than $12 billion since its founding nine years ago and has never turned a profit.

The New York-based company disclosed in its filings that it had lost $2.9 billion in the past three years and $690 million in just the first six months of 2019. Its annual revenue, though, had more than doubled to $1.8 billion in 2018, compared with $886 million the previous year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are leading the offering.

Bloomberg