The We Company's withdrawal of its initial public offering this week came as little surprise to even the most casual business news follower.
After splashing onto Wall Street with its first publicly disclosed financial prospectus on Aug. 14, the coworking company previously valued at $47B quickly saw both its reputation and the likelihood of a successful IPO tank.
Questions and criticism arose about everything from CEO Adam Neumann's compensation package to the company's attempt to trademark the word "we," and WeWork took withering fire from analysts and suffered behind-the-scenes leaks about a culture that burned through $2.6B last year alone.
By the time WeWork pulled the trigger on its offering, market watchers and competitors alike were looking to determine what fallout could happen.
After all, The We Company's relentless investment has led to 528 locations in 111 cities as of June 30, with a current membership of 527,000 people. In the U.S., WeWork accounts for about one-third of all coworking office leasing in major markets in the last 18 months, according to Colliers International, and has estimated a total potential membership of 149 million people worldwide.
With a player that big, what comes next for landlords and the future of coworking? We'd like to hear your thoughts below or here.
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