Tech

WeWork's on-again off-again IPO delayed again

Key Points
  • After a series of setbacks on the road to an initial public offering, the parent company of real estate start-up WeWork is delaying the move.
  • The move comes days after The We Company, WeWork's parent company, announced sweeping corporate governance changes.
  • SoftBank, WeWork's biggest outside investor, was also reportedly pushing to shelve the IPO.
WeWork postpones IPO after lackluster investor response
VIDEO1:5701:57
WeWork postpones IPO after lackluster investor response

After a series of setbacks on the road to an initial public offering, the parent company of real estate start-up WeWork is delaying the move, a source told CNBC Monday.

However, no plans have been set on how long it's delayed for, the source said.

The move comes days after the We Company, WeWork's parent company, announced sweeping corporate governance changes in an amended S-1 filing made public Friday.

The company is expected to decide on Monday evening whether it will proceed with the IPO this week, source told Reuters requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential. The source also told Reuters the We Company is considering delaying its initial public offering until October at the earliest, concerned that its stock market debut would be snubbed by many investors, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the potential IPO delay.

WeWork said in a statement yesterday that it expects the IPO to be completed by the end of the year. 

On Friday, We Co. announced plans to curb CEO and founder Adam Neumann's voting power. The company said it changed its high-vote stock from 20 votes per share to 10 votes per share.

The company also eliminated a key provision that would have allowed Neumann's wife, Rebekah, to lead the search for his successor should he ever become permanently disabled or deceased. Instead, WeWork's board would pick a successor.

In addition to the power struggle at the company, the last $47 billion valuation for the real estate start-up was being slashed by $20 billion or even lower. SoftBank, WeWork's biggest outside investor, was also reportedly pushing to shelve the IPO.

WeWork previously said it will list its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker "WE."

WeWork did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

CNBC's Leslie Picker and Reuters contributed to this report.

Why WeWork's pre-IPO troubles serve as a reality check for start-ups
VIDEO4:4904:49
Why WeWork's pre-IPO troubles serve as a reality check for start-ups