WeWork takes SPAC route to go public in $9 bn deal with BowX Acquisition

WeWork has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm BowX Acquisition Corp, in a deal that values it at $9 billion, the office-sharing startup said on Friday.

The deal marks a steep drop from the $47 billion the loss-making company was worth in 2019 ahead of its botched initial public offering that imploded due to investor concerns over its business model and its founder Adam Neumann’s management style.

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp, which first made public its investment in WeWork in 2017, will retain a majority stake as the company looks to steer itself out of the pandemic-induced slowdown.