WeWork Cos., the world’s biggest office-sharing company, is planning to go public, joining a wave of highly valued technology startups moving to the U.S. markets.
Similar to the crop of other big-name tech IPOs this year, such as Uber and Lyft Inc., WeWork runs a business with eye-watering losses. That’s partly the result of heavy real-world expenses, such as building lease commitments that can last 15 years. The company posted a loss of $1.93 billion on $1.82 billion in sales last year.
“We have regularly focused on how to take our business to the next level in every aspect,” Neumann wrote in the email. “Partly due to technology and partly due to the times we live in, the world has never felt smaller and yet more people than ever are sharing that they feel alone. As one of the world’s largest physical networks, it is our responsibility to help lead the way and set the global example for people and corporations on how we should take care of each other and of our planet.
WeWork said it initially filed plans to go public in December and recently issued updated documents. Around the time it first filed with regulators, it was in talks with SoftBank to sell a majority stake. As global markets faltered, SoftBank backed off the plan and agreed in January to invest $2 billion to increase its minority stake. SoftBank’s stock is up almost 50% since then.