Case study on factors behind WeWork’s IPO implosion

Abstract

Coming on the heels of Uber’s IPO in May 2019, the initial public offering of the new age office space provider WeWork was highly anticipated on Wall Street- with a valuation of $ 47 Billion and explosive membership growth from 450 in 2010 to 527,000 in 20191, WeWork seemed poised to take over the office-rental space in an unprecedented manner. WeWork was slated to trade under the ticker WE with J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs acting as the main underwriters for the IPO2. However, the release of the company’s S-1 filing which contained some unusual items rang an alarm bell amongst investors leading to a stark plunge in the valuation of the company. WeWork, backed by famed investor SoftBank, has lost more than $ 35 Billion in valuation in the year since then- from $47 Billion in 2019 to $ 8 Billion in 20203; this drop was precipitated by investors’ concerns over WeWork’s risky business model and negative cash flows, dubious corporate governance standards, and the erratic behaviour of its Founder-CEO Adam Neumann.