Bulk deal with WeWork Management: CLSA sells 8.4 lakh shares in newly listed stocks for Rs 52 crore

Global markets and asset manager CLSA on Monday sold around 8.4 lakh shares in WeWork India Management in a bulk deal. The shares were sold at a price of Rs 618.55 each, taking the deal size to Rs 52 crore.

The shares were sold through the subsidiary CLSA Global Markets Pte. LTD – ODI at a discount of Rs 1.6% over Friday’s closing price of Rs 628.65 on the NSE.

Shares of WeWork Management continued their decline for the second day in a row on Monday, ending at Rs 611.20, down Rs 17.45 or 2.8% from Friday’s closing price. The stock that made its debut on Friday is trading 6% below its issue price of Rs 648.

The company’s shares made a weak debut on the stock exchanges and were listed at a premium of just 0.3% on the NSE of Rs 650.

WeWork India’s initial public offering (IPO) worth Rs 3,000 crore closed on October 7. It was fully subscribed 1.15 times, although the response from retail and non-institutional investors was lukewarm. Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) had subscribed to 61% of their share allocation of Rs 46.23 lakh, while non-institutional investors (NIIs) accounted for only 23% of their share allocation of Rs 69.35 lakh. Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) provided the subscription and transferred their share 1.79 times.

The IPO was fully structured as an Offer-for-Sale (OFS), meaning the company did not raise any new capital. The proceeds will go to existing shareholders, including Embassy Group and WeWork Global, which will also remain in India as a brand licensor and investor. Founded in 2017, WeWork India operates 68 high-end flexible workspaces across eight cities, spanning 7.35 million square feet, serving top clients such as JP Morgan, Amazon and Uber. Enterprise tenants account for almost 60% of the portfolio, well above the sector average. The company has also achieved a financial turnaround in recent years. Revenue rose from Rs 1,314 crore in FY23 to Rs 1,949 crore in FY25, while profit for the same period fluctuated from a loss of Rs 147 crore to a net profit of Rs 128 crore. Adjusted EBITDA margins reached 21.6% in FY25, indicating operational efficiencies.

However, the IPO valuation is more expensive as the offer is priced at 65 times FY25 earnings at the top end of the range. Listed competitor Awfis Space trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 58x, while other competitors such as Smartworks and Indiqube remain unprofitable.

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