WeWork credit downgraded – Fitch

Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings announced that it has downgraded WeWork’s credit rating by two notches, putting the Softbank-backed office-sharing firm deep into junk territory a day after it abandoned an initial public offering.

Fitch said that it lowered the office-sharing firm’s rating to “CCC+” because it does not have sufficient funding to meet its growth plan.

The global credit rating agency also warned that there is a potential for WeWork’s customers — particularly big companies — to “hesitate to sign membership agreements” given the current flux. It said there was no evidence of this yet.

To recall, WeWork — whose parent We Company lost $1.9 billion in 2018 — had hoped to raise at least $3 billion in the abandoned IPO and borrow a further $6 billion in a loan from banks that was contingent on the listing.

Monday’s decision to scrap the IPO marked the conclusion of a tumultuous few weeks for WeWork, which failed to excite investors who raised concerns about its ballooning losses and a business model that involves taking long-term leases and renting out spaces for a short term.

Fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor’s last week downgraded WeWork to “B-” from “B”. Both “CCC+” and “B-” are junk bond ratings reserved for corporate borrowers judged to be higher risk to lenders.

WeWork is in discussions with banks as well as its largest investor SoftBank Corp about potential alternative funding.

However, Fitch said that it could revisit the rating if WeWork was “able to negotiate a firmly committed financing plan and demonstrate successful implementation of any turnaround plan.”

WeWork had under $2.5 billion in unrestricted cash at the end of June and is due to receive $1.7 billion from SoftBank in 2020, according to Fitch, which estimated that would provide for four-to-eight quarters of funding, without taking into account any potential restructuring costs.