UCOMMUNE is preparing to raise as much as US$200 million in a 2020 U.S. initial public offering (IPO), sources familiar with the matter said.

A capital infusion is expected to help the loss-making Chinese startup battle WeWork Cos. across China.

The four-year-old company is seeking to raise at least US$100 million, the sources said.

Ucommune had reportedly targeted an IPO in 2018’s third quarter but market turbulence engendered by U.S.-Chinese tensions forced it to back off, the sources said.

The deal is in its preliminary stages and subject to change, the sources said, but a successful transaction will help re-fill coffers drained by a race with WeWork to set up shared office spaces from Beijing to Shenzhen.

Ucommune is vying with WeWork and local rivals from KR Space to MyDreamPlus to become China’s leading provider of shared office spaces, popular among the nation’s fast-growing crop of boot-strapped startups.

That pits it directly against WeWork, the US$47 billion outfit that pioneered the concept of trendy workspaces with colorful phone booth-like conversation areas and lively community hangouts serving beer on tap, reshaping office practices around the world.

While WeWork dominates the U.S. market, it faces strong competition in Asia. Last valued at US$1.8 billion and backed by All-Stars Investment Ltd. and Sequoia Capital, Ucommune got its start in China, where it plans to run 300 locations within three years, but has begun setting up in cities from London to Los Angeles.

Ucommune operates more than 100 locations across dozens of cities around the world and shares WeWork’s vision of branching out from office space toward services, including legal assistance. (SD-Agencies)