Office space company WeWork India received a major relief on Monday when the Bombay high court upheld the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) approval for its ₹3,000 crore initial public offering (IPO), according to a Bar & Bench report.
A division bench of justices R.I. Chagla and Farhan Parvez Dubash dismissed petitioner Vinay Bansal’s plea, which had challenged the IPO based on investor allegations that Sebi “overlooked disclosure lapses, including non-disclosure of pending criminal proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)”, the report added.
What has the court ordered?
The court imposed a cost of ₹100,000 on Bansal, payable to the Maharashtra Legal Services Authority (MLSA), to be deposited within two weeks, according to Live Law. The full order is still awaited.
Separately, the Bombay HC dismissed another petition by Hemant Kulshrestha, who alleged that WeWork India had not disclosed significant criminal proceedings and argued that investors should not bear the responsibility of flagging omissions. No costs were imposed in this case, the report said.
WeWork India IPO challenged: What was the case about?
As per the Bar & Bench report, petitioner Bansal had challenged Sebi’s approval for WeWork India’s IPO as “unlawful,” claiming the company’s draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) contained irregularities and suppressed details of disputes.
He argued that these irregularities reflected accumulated losses and negative net worth, while the company projected inflated growth without adequate risk disclosures, information critical for investor decision-making.
Bansal also contested WeWork India’s portrayal of its relationship with the global WeWork brand, alleging that it created a perception of financial backing and stability. In reality, he claimed, the Indian company only licenses the brand name, and investors were not properly warned of this distinction.
About WeWork India IPO
The DRHP was filed on 31 January, and the subscription opened on 3 October, concluding on 7 October. By the final day, the IPO received strong interest from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), who oversubscribed 1.79 times. Non-institutional investors subscribed at 23%, while retail investors subscribed 61%.
On the final day, the IPO was 1.15 times subscribed, according to BSE data. WeWork India listed on Indian stock markets on 10 October.
