WeWork’s China rival targets US listing in December

Ucommune, the largest rival to WeWork in China, is planning an IPO in the US in December even as the better-known competitor is still recovering from its botched IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.

The first-time share sale of the Chinese office-sharing provider could raise about US$100 million ($136 million), said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. The four-yearold company is considering a public IPO filing as soon as the week after next, one of the people said.

The deal is poised to test investors’ appetite for co-working startups after WeWork cancelled its IPO in September and is now valued at less than US$8 billion — down from a peak valuation of US$47 billion in January. Once the most valuable start-up in the world, WeWork had to surrender much of the company in an emergency bailout. Backed by All-Stars Investment and Sequoia Capital, Ucommune was valued at US$1.8 billion in August last year.

Details of the offering including timeline and size could still change as deliberations are ongoing, according to the people. A representative for Ucommune declined to comment.

Ucommune competes in China’s shared office space with WeWork and local rivals including KR Space and MyDreamPlus. The company is popular among the nation’s fast-growing crop of boot-strapped start-ups.

Ucommune was founded by Mao Daqing, a well-known figure in China’s property and tech circles. The grandson of Mao Ziyao, an architect who helped design Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, he spent time at Singapore’s CapitaLand and giant homebuilder China Vanke Co before starting his company in 2015.

The company got its start in China, but has begun setting up in cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and New York, according to its website. It operates more than 200 co-working spaces in 44 cities. The company was known as UrWork until it changed its name after a WeWork lawsuit. — E