Ucommune is vying with WeWork and local rivals from KR Space to MyDreamPlus to become China’s leading provider of shared office spaces, popular among the nation’s fast-growing crop of boot-strapped start-ups. That pits it directly against WeWork, the US$47 billion outfit that pioneered the concept of trendy workspaces with colourful phone booth-like conversation areas and lively community hangouts serving beer on tap, reshaping office practices around the world.
SINGAPORE (July 8): Ucommune is preparing to raise as much as US$200 million ($271 million) in a 2020 US IPO, people familiar with the matter say, a capital infusion that would help the loss-making Chinese start-up battle WeWork Cos across the world’s No 2 economy.
The four-year-old company is seeking to raise at least US$100 million, they say, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. Ucommune had reportedly targeted an IPO in 3Q2018, but market turbulence engendered by US-China tensions forced it to back off, they add. The deal is in its preliminary stages and subject to change, they say, but a successful transaction will help refill coffers drained by a race with WeWork to set up shared office spaces from Beijing to Shenzhen.
