WeWork Joins a Long List of High-Profile SPACs That Have Failed

The list of companies to go public through a blank-check merger only to go bankrupt shortly thereafter has a new headline member: WeWork Inc.

After a little more than two years as a public company, the infamous office-sharing firm has filed for Chapter 11 protection. WeWork joins the likes of Core Scientific Inc., one of the largest miners of Bitcoin, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. to go bust and wipe out billions in market value.

WeWork is the highest profile SPAC blowup. The company’s $9 billion valuation in an October 2021 deal — ...