WeWork begins a humbler second act

IT IS HARD to imagine such shockingly different financial documents. Two years ago a startup in New York that boosters claimed was worth $47bn issued a flowery prospectus in advance of its initial public offering (IPO). The firm’s mission, it declared, was to “elevate the world’s consciousness”. Such was the backlash against its puffery that it was forced to scrap its flotation. On March 26th a New York firm unveiled a 50-page investor presentation that was rather less effusive, filled with talk of cost savings, efficiency and productivity gains for clients. This humbler company secured a backdoor listing, through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), that would value it at around $9bn.