The valuation gap between IWG and WeWork is bonkers according to The Times, something CEO Mark Dixon has spent the last year or more trying to close. His most recent idea, selling the group’s Japanese network to TKP and entering into a long-term franchising deal has finally been successful. News of the deal, which Dixon sees as the start of an evolution into and asset-lite franchise model, saw the shares rally 24%. But it’s not just IWG’s stock that has risen since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2014. Japan accounts for just 3% of revenues and now Dixon needs to prove he can do the similar deals in bigger parts of the business in America, Brazil, France and other markets reported The Times.
The valuation gap between IWG and WeWork is bonkers according to The Times, something CEO Mark Dixon has spent the last year or more trying to close. His most recent idea, selling the group’s Japanese network to TKP and entering into a long-term franchising deal has finally been successful. News of the deal, which Dixon sees as the start of an evolution into and asset-lite franchise model, saw the shares rally 24%. Stifel said the terms implied a valuation of £6bn ($7.8bn) for the whole group. Japan accounts for just 3% of revenues and now Dixon needs to prove he can do the similar deals in bigger parts of the business in America, Brazil, France and other markets reported The Times.