Greed is god.
At this level, when you aren’t going public through a direct itemizing, conventional IPO or SPAC, are you even a growthy enterprise?
Every CEO I discuss to at a startup that’s doing greater than Series B-level income tells me that SPACs are circling, hungry for a deal in order that they received’t should return collected capital to their unique backers. There’s an outdated joke: If all you have got is a hammer, every little thing seems to be like a nail. Except this time, if all you have got is a blank-check firm, each erstwhile startup seems to be like a public firm in ready.
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Enter WeWork. Yes, the firm well-known for torching a mountain of money that might rival the Ever Given in sheer bulk goes public through a SPAC. This morning we’re going by way of its investor presentation, asking ourselves questions like, “Is this as nasty a business as it was a few years ago?” and “Why, oh God, why do we have to talk about WeWork again?”
But that’s not all. Axios, the uncommon media startup that appeared positioned for a good run, might merge with The Athletic and go public through a SPAC. At least per WSJ reporting.
It’s potential to summon arguments in favor of the deal. The Athletic has what Axios lacks and vice versa, so maybe combining the former’s subscription base with the newsletter-and-ads prowess of the latter would make for a beautiful firm. Maybe.
But the important gist of this morning is that non-public traders in corporations of all stripes try to get their cash out whereas it’s nonetheless potential. That’s why we’ve seen eleventy-seven LIDAR and electric-vehicle SPACs. These aren’t often corporations which are able to go public; they’re corporations with traders which are able to money out.
The identical momentum applies to the WeWork deal and the potential Axios combo-and-SPAC, I reckon.
Today, greed isn’t actually good, to cite an outdated film. It’s been good for so lengthy amongst the tech-and-money class that quoting a movie about a corrupt financier is simply too boring to warrant even warmed-over ennui. Instead, greed is god, and we’re all watching its ascension.
Now let’s digest the newest sacrifices.
WeWork
First, is WeWork a recovered firm that has proven a capability to develop whereas shedding much less cash? Not actually.
