WeWork Looking At Stock Merger To Avoid NYSE Delisting

In the hopes of avoiding being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, WeWork wants to consolidate some of its stock with the goal of raising its value.

The move, called a reverse stock split, would consolidate the coworking firm's outstanding shares, hopefully pushing the price for the stock up, The Real Deal reported. The move, which needs shareholder approval, is often used by companies facing delisting.

WeWork received a warning in April that its stock had traded below $1 for more than 30 days, which can lead to the stock being delisted from the NYSE. The warning gave the company six months to raise the price of its stock. At the time, the company said it would consider "a number of available alternatives" to boost its price about the $1 threshold.

The coworking company is also exploring tweaking its model, WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani told attendees of a global real estate summit in Tel Aviv, Israel, late last month, though it's unclear whether this is also connected to boosting its stock price before the six-month deadline.

WeWork has been thinking about the "next step" beyond the way it offers office space currently, Mathrani said in a pre-recorded message. Taking a page out of Uber's book, is looking at bringing the "shared economy" to office space, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"Can [we tell the client], ‘You will use the office three days a week, and another client will use the same office two days a week’? And the question is, ‘Why not?’" Mathrani said. "I think we will continue to evolve, and once such an evolution begins, it happens very quickly and will catch traditional property owners off guard.”

Mathrani did not offer further details or a timeline for implementation. 

WeWork stock was trading at 41 cents as of Wednesday morning. WeWork's share price has seen a 71% decrease since the start of the year, The Real Deal noted.