WeWork作為一家不被看好的辦公室租賃公司,一直以來(lái)都遭受著“瀕臨倒閉”的質(zhì)疑。
2019年10月,WeWork從美國(guó)證券交易委員會(huì)撤回了自己的招股說(shuō)明書,隨著估值一路下滑,該公司的首次IPO還是以失敗告終。然而,一年后的今天,WeWork似乎迎來(lái)了一場(chǎng)大反轉(zhuǎn)。上周日,WeWork的現(xiàn)任董事會(huì)執(zhí)行主席馬塞洛?克勞爾在接受《金融時(shí)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示,公司預(yù)計(jì)將于2021年實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利,完成先前所定下的正向現(xiàn)金流目標(biāo)。
事實(shí)上,克勞爾原先供職于軟銀。WeWork在初創(chuàng)之際,軟銀就在它身上不斷砸錢,把它的估值抬升到了470億美元的天價(jià)。2019年11月,WeWork首次IPO失敗后,該公司的創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官亞當(dāng)?諾依曼引咎辭職,克勞爾臨危受命,被軟銀派去收拾殘局,以便重振WeWork。與此同時(shí),房地產(chǎn)老手桑迪普?馬斯拉尼接任首席執(zhí)行官一職,開(kāi)始著手削減公司規(guī)模及一系列的非核心資產(chǎn)。
“在當(dāng)時(shí),所有人都覺(jué)得WeWork沒(méi)救了?!笨藙跔柛嬖V《金融時(shí)報(bào)》,“但現(xiàn)在,一年以后,你們能看到WeWork已經(jīng)差不多成為一家盈利型企業(yè)了,它現(xiàn)在的資產(chǎn)結(jié)構(gòu)也很多樣?!?
克勞爾將WeWork的“逆襲”主要?dú)w因于兩點(diǎn):首先是WeWork在成本削減方面的決絕態(tài)度,為了減輕資金負(fù)擔(dān),該公司一共裁去了8000多位員工,達(dá)到了總?cè)藬?shù)的一半有余。其次則是疫情所帶來(lái)的機(jī)遇,受到疫情影響,中小企業(yè)對(duì)彈性辦公空間的需求大大增加,從而提高了公司的客戶量。過(guò)去一個(gè)月,WeWork已經(jīng)與包括萬(wàn)事達(dá)、微軟、花旗在內(nèi)的多家企業(yè)簽署了租賃協(xié)議,為其提供小型的辦公點(diǎn),使它們像“衛(wèi)星”一樣分散在總部的周圍。
“其實(shí)有很多公司,比如說(shuō)Facebook、谷歌、亞馬遜等等,它們都允許員工自由地去選擇適宜的工作地點(diǎn)。”克勞爾說(shuō)道,“我們的員工也是一樣,他們可以自己決定每周是要坐班1天、2天,還是3天?!?
不過(guò),WeWork的好消息也并不是這樣多。
去年10月,在其瀕臨破產(chǎn)之際,軟銀曾經(jīng)大方提出了一項(xiàng)95億美元的救助計(jì)劃,承諾會(huì)從WeWork現(xiàn)有股東手中回購(gòu)30億美元的股票來(lái)幫助該公司走出困境,一旦此舉達(dá)成,WeWork的早期股東將會(huì)獲得豐厚的回報(bào),這也正是該公司的前首席執(zhí)行官諾依曼及風(fēng)投公司Benchmark所期待的。
但令人意想不到的是,今年4月,軟銀以“疫情期間經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況惡化”為由宣布撤回該項(xiàng)回購(gòu)計(jì)劃,同時(shí)還表示,WeWork方面未能達(dá)成協(xié)議中的某些條款。目前,WeWork的股東已經(jīng)對(duì)軟銀提起了訴訟。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
編譯:陳怡軒
WeWork作為一家不被看好的辦公室租賃公司,一直以來(lái)都遭受著“瀕臨倒閉”的質(zhì)疑。
2019年10月,WeWork從美國(guó)證券交易委員會(huì)撤回了自己的招股說(shuō)明書,隨著估值一路下滑,該公司的首次IPO還是以失敗告終。然而,一年后的今天,WeWork似乎迎來(lái)了一場(chǎng)大反轉(zhuǎn)。上周日,WeWork的現(xiàn)任董事會(huì)執(zhí)行主席馬塞洛?克勞爾在接受《金融時(shí)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示,公司預(yù)計(jì)將于2021年實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利,完成先前所定下的正向現(xiàn)金流目標(biāo)。
事實(shí)上,克勞爾原先供職于軟銀。WeWork在初創(chuàng)之際,軟銀就在它身上不斷砸錢,把它的估值抬升到了470億美元的天價(jià)。2019年11月,WeWork首次IPO失敗后,該公司的創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官亞當(dāng)?諾依曼引咎辭職,克勞爾臨危受命,被軟銀派去收拾殘局,以便重振WeWork。與此同時(shí),房地產(chǎn)老手桑迪普?馬斯拉尼接任首席執(zhí)行官一職,開(kāi)始著手削減公司規(guī)模及一系列的非核心資產(chǎn)。
“在當(dāng)時(shí),所有人都覺(jué)得WeWork沒(méi)救了。”克勞爾告訴《金融時(shí)報(bào)》,“但現(xiàn)在,一年以后,你們能看到WeWork已經(jīng)差不多成為一家盈利型企業(yè)了,它現(xiàn)在的資產(chǎn)結(jié)構(gòu)也很多樣。”
克勞爾將WeWork的“逆襲”主要?dú)w因于兩點(diǎn):首先是WeWork在成本削減方面的決絕態(tài)度,為了減輕資金負(fù)擔(dān),該公司一共裁去了8000多位員工,達(dá)到了總?cè)藬?shù)的一半有余。其次則是疫情所帶來(lái)的機(jī)遇,受到疫情影響,中小企業(yè)對(duì)彈性辦公空間的需求大大增加,從而提高了公司的客戶量。過(guò)去一個(gè)月,WeWork已經(jīng)與包括萬(wàn)事達(dá)、微軟、花旗在內(nèi)的多家企業(yè)簽署了租賃協(xié)議,為其提供小型的辦公點(diǎn),使它們像“衛(wèi)星”一樣分散在總部的周圍。
“其實(shí)有很多公司,比如說(shuō)Facebook、谷歌、亞馬遜等等,它們都允許員工自由地去選擇適宜的工作地點(diǎn)?!笨藙跔栒f(shuō)道,“我們的員工也是一樣,他們可以自己決定每周是要坐班1天、2天,還是3天?!?
不過(guò),WeWork的好消息也并不是這樣多。
去年10月,在其瀕臨破產(chǎn)之際,軟銀曾經(jīng)大方提出了一項(xiàng)95億美元的救助計(jì)劃,承諾會(huì)從WeWork現(xiàn)有股東手中回購(gòu)30億美元的股票來(lái)幫助該公司走出困境,一旦此舉達(dá)成,WeWork的早期股東將會(huì)獲得豐厚的回報(bào),這也正是該公司的前首席執(zhí)行官諾依曼及風(fēng)投公司Benchmark所期待的。
但令人意想不到的是,今年4月,軟銀以“疫情期間經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況惡化”為由宣布撤回該項(xiàng)回購(gòu)計(jì)劃,同時(shí)還表示,WeWork方面未能達(dá)成協(xié)議中的某些條款。目前,WeWork的股東已經(jīng)對(duì)軟銀提起了訴訟。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
編譯:陳怡軒
It would appear that rumors of WeWork’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
That’s according to Marcelo Claure, the SoftBank executive who’s been charged with revitalizing the beleaguered shared office-space provider after its botched IPO last year. In an interview with the Financial Times on last Sunday, Claure—who presently serves as WeWork’s chairman—said the company is on track to meet its goals of positive cash flow and profits by 2021.
SoftBank—the Japanese private equity giant that drove WeWork’s valuation to an astronomical, ill-fated $47 billion—installed Claure as WeWork’s chairman in October, shortly after company cofounder and CEO Adam Neumann stepped down following the IPO debacle. Since then, WeWork has appointed real estate industry veteran Sandeep Mathrani as CEO, and has pursued a restructuring that has seen the company downsize its office portfolio and shed noncore assets.
“Everybody thought WeWork was mission impossible,” Claure told the FT. “And now, a year from now, you are going to see WeWork to basically be a profitable venture with an incredible diversity of assets.”
Claure attributed the firm’s abrupt turnaround to heavy cost cuts that saw WeWork shed 8,000 jobs—more than half its total workforce—as well as strong demand for the company’s flexible office spaces in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The likes of Mastercard, Microsoft, and Citigroup have signed new lease agreements with WeWork over the past month, with the goal of providing satellite offices for employees and spreading out workers beyond their main offices.
“We have companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon who have told their employees that they can work from wherever they are,” according to Claure. “We have a lot of those employees who basically now come to a WeWork facility to use it one day a week, two days a week, three days a week.”
Meanwhile, SoftBank and WeWork shareholders remain locked in litigation over SoftBank’s decision to pull out of a $3 billion stock buyout of WeWork, which would have seen shareholders like Neumann and venture capital firm Benchmark reap a windfall. SoftBank scrapped the deal in March as economic conditions deteriorated owing to the pandemic, claiming that certain stipulations had not been met.