Everything we know going on at WeWork

Jackal Pan/Reuters

• The We Company, better known as WeWork, is preparing for an initial public offering. Backed by SoftBank, the managed office company was last valued at $47 billion.
• Like other unicorns going public, the company is losing billions – last year, both its revenue and losses doubled.
• CEO and cofounder Adam Neumann has been in the spotlight for his unusual pitches, accounting methods, and potential conflicts of interest, as well as a range of far-flung investments with WeWork money.
• Business Insider reports regularly on the latest developments at WeWork. You can read our stories by subscribing to BI Prime.

Here’s what we know about what’s going on inside of WeWork right now, from its path to an initial public offering to CEO and cofounder Adam Neumann’s leadership evolution and investment appetite:

Financials

• WeWork’s CFO says it will generate $2 billion in profit on the desks it’s opened this year, and it shows the importance of the ‘space-as-a-service’ model
• WeWork’s ‘entirely new, nonsense’ way of evaluating its profits is eerily similar to the tech bubble
• The past 4 years of WeWork’s pre-IPO financials show just how important cash flow is to the company’s growth
• WeWork reported its financials for 2018 and both its revenue — and losses — doubled
• One of WeWork’s buildings is profitable, and the company says it’s a vindication of its model
• WeWork documents reveal it owes $18 billion in rent and is burning through cash as it seeks more funding

SoftBank’s role

• WeWork’s CEO raised $4.4 billion from a Saudi-backed fund, but said going forward he’d consider declining investments on moral grounds
• How WeWork’s CEO grew a $10 billion relationship with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, whom he calls ‘Yoda’
• It took a day for WeWork’s CEO to recover from the shock of a $16 billion SoftBank investment falling apart
• SoftBank has slashed a planned $16 billion mega-investment in WeWork after facing objections and will now invest $2 billion
• SoftBank is in talks to invest $15B to $20B in WeWork for a majority stake

Road to IPO

• WeWork is setting up a $2.9 billion fund to buy buildings that it will lease to itself
• WeWork confidentially filed to go public
• A top WeWork executive explains why the company doesn’t have the same issues as Airbnb and Uber
• WeWork’s copresident says it’s ‘really just getting started’ on working with Fortune 500 companies, as it files to go public

Neumann’s leadership

• WeWork’s CEO says the way it rents out office space makes companies’ financials look better. Some experts aren’t sure how legitimate the pitch is.
• WeWork’s CEO explains why he thinks his $47 billion company is recession-proof and how he keeps his ego in check as a young billionaire
• WeWork CEO Adam Neumann has reportedly made millions of dollars by leasing office space to his own company
• WeWork bans meat at company events and won’t let employees expense meals that include meat because it’s bad for the environment

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• WeWork’s CEO says the way it rents out office space makes companies’ financials look better. Some experts aren’t sure how legitimate the pitch is.

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Business Insider)