We Company, the parent company of co-working spaces provider WeWork, is set to divest its stake in US-based women-focused work and social space provider The Wing and US-based social networking platform Meetup, according to Fortune.
We Co currently owns a 23% stake in The Wing, which it valued at $58.8m as of June 2019. Sources told Fortune that The Wing was currently valued at approximately $400m, which would put the value of We Co’s shareholding at $92m.
Founded in 2016, The Wing operates 13 co-working spaces across the US, Canada and the UK for female members, offering amenities rooftop cafés and tearooms, portrait galleries, showers and pump rooms for nursing mothers.
The decision to divest from The Wing follows We Co’s failed attempt at going public and ensuing crisis.
The move also comes as Jen Berrent, chief legal officer of We Co and board member of The Wing, has been sued for pregnancy discrimination against We Co employee Medina Bardhi. Berrent is expected to lose her seat on The Wing’s board after the divestment goes through.
The Wing collected $75m in a series C round backed by We Co and accommodation rental platform Airbnb in December 2018. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and also featured Upfront Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and assorted angel investors.
We Co previously led a $32m series B round in November 2017, investing alongside NEA, Girl Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).
BBG Ventures, a female-focused corporate venturing division of telecommunications firm Verizon, took part in an $8m series A round April 2017 that was led by NEA and also included KPCB, Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler.
BBG Ventures had already participated in a $2.4m seed round in 2016 alongside assorted angel investors, including Rice and Cutler.
In addition to divesting its stake in The Wing, We Co also revealed it would look to sell Meetup, which it had acquired for an undisclosed amount in November 2017. That transaction had provided exits to investors including online auction platform eBay.
