The 'WeWork of China' is preparing to go public, and its plan for profitability is almost identical to WeWork's
- Ucommune, China's biggest coworking real estate startup, is preparing to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.
- The company is the first major office-sharing company to attempt to go public since WeWork's disastrous attempt at an IPO in September.
- Some analysts are skeptical that Ucommune will face the same fate as WeWork, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Ucommune isn't profitable yet, and the company explains its path to profitability using language that's almost identical to WeWork's IPO prospectus.
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After raising millions from early investors, a massive office-sharing startup is preparing a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, despite the fact that it still isn't profitable. Sound familiar?
Ucommune, the Beijing-based flexible office startup known as the "WeWork of China," has filed plans for an IPO - the first major office-sharing startup to attempt to go public since WeWork's failed IPO attempt earlier this year.
Ucommune raised $200 million in its last round of funding at a valuation of $2.6 billion. It could go public as soon as January, according to The Wall Street Journal, but some analysts are already worried that Ucommune will face the same fate as WeWork, which pulled its public offering in September as investors raised concerns about its profitability.
Ucommune's filing bears some striking similarities to the prospectus WeWork published in advance of its own IPO attempt. The Chinese company's description of its path to profitability is nearly identical to WeWork's.
"Once a space reaches maturity, occupancy is generally stable, our initial investment in build-out and sales and marketing to drive member acquisition is complete and the space typically generates a recurring stream of revenue and cash flows," Ucommune's prospectus reads. WeWork's prospectus contained a sentence that's all but identical, but using the term "location" instead of "space."
Similarly, former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann faced criticism for leasing properties that he owns to WeWork. According to Ucommune's filing, the company has signed leases on six properties owned by an affiliate of its founder and CEO, Mao Daqing.
Ucommune did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The company states in its filing that it has "adequate sources of liquidity and capital resources to support its daily operations for the next 12 months."
Some early investors have already dropped out of Ucommune's public offering - Citibank and Credit Suisse both walked away due to concerns over the size of the valuation Ucommune was seeking, according to Reuters.
