SoftBank Group Corp. has prepared a financing package that would give it control of WeWork and further sideline its founder Adam Neumann in exchange for relieving the shared-office startup’s looming cash crunch, according to people familiar with the matter.
WeWork is racing to find a way to shore up its financing after its New York parent company We Co. pulled its plans for an initial public offering and Neumann resigned under pressure.
One potential solution is the SoftBank 9984, -0.81% package. Another possibility: The board has tapped JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, +1.69% to look at ways for the company to raise billions in debt, and the bank is in the middle of meetings with investors about participating in a multibillion-dollar debt deal, people familiar with the company’s plans said.
“WeWork has retained a major Wall Street financial institution to arrange a financing,” a company spokesman said. “Approximately 60 financing sources have signed confidentiality agreements and are meeting with the company’s management and its bankers over the course of this past week and this coming week.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
Also popular on WSJ.com:
China emerges with wins from U.S. trade truce.
Marijuana madness turns into a cannabis crash.
Add Comment