Ahead of IPO, WeWork India Collects ₹1,348-cr from Anchor Investors

Co-working space operator WeWork India has collected a little over ₹1,348 crore from anchor investors ahead of its initial share-sale opening for public subscription.

The anchor book received widespread participation from mutual funds such as ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC MF, Motilal Oswal MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, Axis MF, Canara-Robeco MF as well as insurance firms such as, Canara HSBC Life Insurance, SBI General Insurance and Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

Global interest was equally notable with strong demand from Goldman Sachs Fund, Al Mehwar Commercial Investments LLC - (Wanda) and Allianz Global Investors, according to a circular uploaded on BSE's website late night on Wednesday.

WeWork India has allotted 2,08,06,548 equity shares to 67 funds at ₹648 apiece. This takes the transaction size to ₹1,348.26 crore, the circular showed.

The company's ₹3,000-crore issue will open for public subscription on October 3 and close on October 7. The price band has been fixed at ₹615 to ₹648 per share, valuing the company around ₹8,685 crore at the upper end.

The IPO, entirely an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 4.63 crore equity shares, will see promoter group entity Embassy Buildcon LLP and investor 1 Ariel Way Tenant Ltd (part of WeWork Global) divest their stakes. The proposed IPO is worth ₹3,000 crore at the upper end.

Currently, Embassy Group holds about 76.21% in WeWork India, while WeWork Global owns 23.45%.

Since the issue is an OFS, WeWork India will not receive any proceeds from the issue and the funds will go entirely to the selling shareholders.

In its draft papers, WeWork India stated that the objective of the offer is to achieve the benefits of listing its equity shares on the stock exchanges. The company expects the listing to enhance visibility, provide liquidity to existing shareholders, and establish a public market for its stock in India.

Founded in 2017, WeWork India operates under an exclusive licence of the WeWork brand in India, promoted by Bengaluru-based real estate developer Embassy Group.

The company aims to leverage the IPO primarily to achieve listing benefits enhancing visibility, providing liquidity to existing shareholders, and creating a public market for its stock.

WeWork Global had invested USD 100 million in 2021, while in January 2024, the company raised ₹500 crore through a rights issue to reduce debt and support expansion.

At present, WeWork India operates across Tier-1 cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Noida, Delhi, and Chennai, managing 77 lakh square feet of space, of which 70 lakh square feet is operational, with a desk capacity of 1.03 lakh. The firm employs over 500 people.

According to the company, 75% of the offer size has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors and the remaining 10% for retail investors.

Investors can place bids for a minimum of 23 shares and in multiples of that thereafter.

With the IPO scheduled in early October, WeWork India is expected to debut on the stock exchanges on October 10.