Chinese co-working startup Ucommune files for $100m IPO

Chinese co-working startup Ucommune on Wednesday filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to US$100 million in an initial public offering (IPO).

A Ucommune space in Singapore / Photo credit: Ucommune

The startup plans to use the proceeds from the offering for the expansion of its spaces and service offerings, improvement of its technologies, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, according to the preliminary filing. It did not, however, disclose specific pricing terms yet.

Ucommune plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker UK. Haitong International and China Renaissance are acting joint bookrunners on the deal.

The startup has shared workspaces in 200 locations across 37 countries, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York. Citing data from Frost & Sullivan, it claims to be the largest co-working space community in China in terms of the number of co-working spaces, managed area, and number of cities covered in the country.

Citing sources, Reuters earlier reported that Ucommune filed a confidential prospectus with the SEC in September, tapping financial service firms Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and Bank of America to work on the offering. The company’s decision to pursue an IPO reportedly depended on the feedback from potential investors.

The move surprised investment bankers as WeWork, which bears similarities with Ucommune, shelved its IPO plans not long ago due to backlash from investors.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, Ucommune posted a net loss of about 572.8 million yuan (US$81.4 million) with a total net revenue of 874.6 million yuan (US$124.3 million), according to the filing. It was valued at around US$2.6 billion in 2018.

WeWork recorded a net loss of over US$900 million in the six months ended June 30, while posting a revenue of US$1.54 billion, according to its August IPO filing.