WeWork’s Valuation May Fall To $8 Billion From $47 Billion Before Scrapped IPO Plans, Says Report

Having scrapped its IPO plans, office-space sharing company WeWork could now be valued at as low as $8 billion by the Japanese SoftBank group that is planning a rescue financing round for the estranged firm, Economic Times reports.

The valuation is far lower than the $47 billion amount it was valued at as recently as January this year.

The news comes amidst a reported upcoming funds crunch at WeWork which could run out of cash as early as next month. It has since been in talks with both SoftBank and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to generate funds. The company’s board could take a decision on the funds as early as this weekend.

SoftBank, which already owns about a third of WeWork along with its associates has come up with a planned $5 billion funds infusion through a mix of equity and debt funding. The amount, however, will come from the Japanese firm itself, and not through the Vision Fund that it operates in concert with Saudi Arabia.

JP Morgan Co. too has been working on a $5 billion funding for the start-up and has pitched its plans to as many as 100 investors to shore up the funds.