WeWork goes public after the flexible office space company agreed to merge with special purpose construction company BowX Acquisition Corp. BOWX,
in a deal valuing WeWork at $ 9 billion, including debt, according to a report Friday in the Wall Street Journal. BowX shares gathered 4.8% in pre-sale trading. WeWork raised $ 1.3 billion in the contract, including $ 800 million in private equity investment (PIPE) from Insight Partners, funds managed by Starwood Capital Group, Fidelity Management and others, a WSJ report said. . In 2019, investment from Japan-based technology investor Softbank Group Corp. SFTBY,
9984,
has valued WeWork at $ 47 billion, the report said. An earlier attempt to go public through a more traditional public offering failed, with Adam Neueman resigning as chairman and chief executive and WeWork closing places and eliminating the public. when COVID-19 pandemics halted demand for office space. The WSJ reported in January that WeWork was in talks with SPAC related to Bow Capital. BowX stock, which went public in October 2020, has lost 5.1% year to date through Thursday, while the Renaissance IPO ETF,
lost 6.4% and the S&P 500 SPX,
has gained 4.1%.