WeWork just dropped its filing to go public, revealing its financials ahead of IPO - CNBC

WeWork released its much-anticipated IPO prospectus, joining a flurry of tech companies going public in 2019.

The filing comes as WeWork, which rebranded to the We Company, is widely expected to go public as soon as September. WeWork was recently valued at $47 billion after SoftBank, the company's biggest backer, invested an additional $2 billion in January.

In the filing released Wednesday, the company reported revenues of $1.54 billion and a net loss of more than $900 million for the first six months of 2019. The company also reported that it had 527,000 members as of June 30, an increase of more than 90% from the year before.

It will trade under the ticker WE.

WeWork, which rents out co-working spaces to startups, freelancers and enterprises, has to plunge cash into real estate in some of the most expensive markets and makes money back over time as companies and individuals pay their rent, or membership. The company reported long-term lease obligations of $17.9 billion in the filing.

According to the prospectus, WeWork's biggest shareholders are the WE Holdings company and entities of Benchmark, JP Morgan and SoftBank. The WE Holdings company is controlled by WeWork CEO Adam Neumann.

The We Company filed confidentially for an IPO in April. The filing didn't include financial specifics, but in its first-quarter business update in May, the company said revenue more than doubled to $728.3 million, helped by expansion into international markets and growing memberships.

In an effort to sway investors, the company has tried to differentiate its losses from money-losing ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, which both went public earlier this year. CFO Artie Minson told CNBC's Deirdre Bosa in May that investors should view WeWork's losses as "investments," adding that renting out work space is a "proven business model."

WeWork is reportedly planning to raise $3 billion to $4 billion in debt before its IPO to help fund growth and prove that it can reach profitability.

The company has been expanding beyond co-working spaces and into new markets. It has launched communal housing complexes under its WeLive business, as well as early education schools called WeGrow.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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