By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – US private equity group CC Capital has said it does not intend to make an offer for IWG (LON:IWG), despite recent press reports suggesting talks between the two parties had taken place.
Sky News reported on Monday evening that IWG had been in secretive talks with CC Capital that could value the company at more than £4 billion.
However, in a statement to the London Stock Exchange, CC Capital said they noted the recent press speculation and confirmed that “it does not intend to make an offer for IWG”.
IWG shares had opened the trading day higher by over 9% as the potential deal talks surfaced but have since pared gains. At 11:58BST shares were trading higher by just 0.3% at 301.04 pence.
The serviced office group is seen as a competitor to WeWork, who agreed to public via a SPAC deal earlier this year.
The deal, once complete, will value WeWork (NASDAQ:BOWX) at $9 billion, well above the valuation of IWG which currently trades with a market cap of just over £3 billion ($4.15 billion).
The reported discussions come amid turbulent times for the office space industry as countries attempt a return to normal in a post-pandemic world. Many companies have yet to decide whether workers will return to offices full-time or adopt a more hybrid working model, with employees spending some time in the office and some working from home.
IWG warned earlier this month that earnings would in 2021 would be “well below” 2020 levels as the overall improvement in occupancy was lower than previously anticipated.