Brookfield Asset Management and Onex are planning to bid about $3.7 billion for IWG, a WeWork rival based in Switzerland.
IWG, formerly known as “Regus,” confirmed in December that it had received an “indicative proposal” from the two companies, but no final decisions have been made yet, according to Bloomberg. Shares of IWG were up 8.3 percent in trading early on Wednesday. When news first broke of Brookfield and Onex’s interest, shares rose 30 percent.
IWG has almost 3,000 worldwide locations compared to 283 for WeWork, but WeWork’s value is significantly higher at $20 billion.
Brookfield and Onex, both private equity firms based in Canada, have until Jan. 20 to make a final call about whether or not to make an offer for IWG under the United Kingdom’s takeover rules.
Brookfield is also said to be preparing an increased bid for retail-focused real estate investment trust General Growth Properties, after its initial $15 billion bid was rejected. [Bloomberg] – Eddie Small