WeWork India IPO sees flat market debut

WeWork India saw a muted demand for its initial public offering (IPO) on its debut day as its share price got listed at a marginal premium of 0.31% at ₹650 against the issue price of ₹615-648 per share. On the BSE, shares were listed at a 0.23% discount at ₹ 646.50 per share, while the script opened at ₹650 on the NSE, taking its total m-cap to ₹8,502.44 crore. At 10.48 am, shares of WeWork are trading at ₹633.50 on the BSE, down 2.01% compared to the issue price.

Ahead of the listing, the shares of WeWork were trading at the issue price, commanding nil GMP, showing poor demand. The company collected ₹1,348 crore from anchor investors before the issue debuted on the stock exchanges on October 1. Embassy Buildcon-backed Bengaluru-based premium flexible workspace operator proposed to raise ₹3,000 crore via the IPO, which was entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 4.6 crore equity shares. The price band for the offer was fixed at ₹615–648 per share, valuing the company at around ₹8,685 crore.

On October 6, InGovern Research Services raised concerns about WeWork's weak financial health and disclosure practices. It said despite its rapid expansion and revenue growth of about 22% CAGR between FY23 and FY25, financial pressures remain. "WeWork India continues to report negative cash flows, high lease costs that consume over 43% of revenues, and a net profit in FY25 driven largely by a deferred tax credit, not operational performance."

Earlier, in an exclusive interaction with Fortune India, WeWork India MD and CEO Karan Virwani said that there is no fresh issue component as the company is already self-sustaining, generating sufficient cash to fund both operations and expansion.

“Over the last eight years, we’ve fully invested in our infrastructure. In January, we infused capital to pay down debt. The business is now generating enough cash to support operations and growth,” he said. According to him, the IPO aims to facilitate future growth plans while leveraging the company’s existing investments.

Established in May 2016, WeWork India Management provides a comprehensive array of flexible workspace solutions, catering to large enterprises, small businesses, startups, and professionals. It benefits from its affiliation with WeWork Global, which operates in 35 countries with around 600 locations. As of September 30, 2024, the company had 94,440 desks across 59 operational centres, spanning a total leasable area of 6.48 million square feet.