WeWork's Valuation Could Balloon To $40B Behind More SoftBank Cash

WeWork could soon become the second-most-valuable venture-backed company in the world.

SoftBank, the Japan-based fund that invested more than $4B in WeWork last year to bring the shared-space firm's valuation to just north of $20B, is in discussions for another infusion of capital at a valuation of between $35B and $40B, the Wall Street Journal reports.

WeWork CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann
Former Wework Ceo And Co-Founder Adam Neumann

SoftBank, founded by Masayoshi Son, has invested in WeWork through its $100B Vision Fund. The fund's chief executive, Rajeev Misra, said at a conference in London Wednesday that WeWork was seeking to raise more money at a $35B valuation, Business Insider reports.

The additional fundraising will turn even more heads in both the real estate and technology industry, as WeWork has consistently done since its founding in 2010. The New York-based company was once defined only by its coworking spaces, but last year the company diversified intensively, launching a fitness club, an elementary school, a coding academy, buying companies that aligned with its mission — most notably Meetup — and spending more than $1B to acquire property in Manhattan and London.

While its growth has come at a breakneck speed and its design aesthetic has changed the way landlords outfit buildings, WeWork is also piling up expenses and debt at a high rate. WeWork sold $702M in bonds in April, and financial documents reviewed by the WSJ revealed the company expected to spend $1.9B on losses this year.

Concerns regarding the coworking giant's high valuation ahead of its anticipated initial public offering in 2019 are also brewing. An academic study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research determined the startup is 18% overvalued. When comparing WeWork's current $20B valuation to that of publicly traded competitors with larger footprints, like U.K.-based shared office pioneer IWG, which has 3,000 locations compared to WeWork's 270 (as of 2017), there is considerable contrast. While IWG is valued at $4.1B, or seven times its earnings, WeWork's valuation puts it at about 20 times its earnings. The Wall Street Journal writes this rapid growth has been fueled by "Silicon Valley pixie dust."

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Why Hines Is Restarting Its Development Engine

Cross Ocean Partners, Fuller Realty Acquire 829K SF Houston Office Campus

How Integrated Infrastructure Can Help AI Data Centers Deploy Faster, Build Smarter

Nvidia Buys Stake In Data Center Power Company

Invesco Cuts Fees, Adds Incentives To Quell Fund Redemption Requests

Investors Anchor Big Capital Into Marinas, Betting On Shallow Supply

NYC Office Investor Warns It Could Go Under As Defaults Pile Up

Deutsche Bank Takes 5 Floors At Oaktree And Quadrant's Canary Wharf Scheme

Nike Closes 15 Stores Amid Tumultuous Year

Large Commercial Real Estate Sales Up 30% Despite Economic Headwinds

Evergrande Founder Sentenced To Life, 56 Others Sent To Prison In China

Loud And Clear: Why Aiphone Thinks Intercom Ownership Is Best For Multitenant Buildings