Once-skyrocketing startup WeWork is suddenly losing momentum as investors cast doubt on its business just before a planned debut on the public markets. The parent company of fast-growing WeWork, which rents shared office space to other companies, has postponed its stock offering amid concerns about CEO Adam Neumann and the company’s losses. The company canceled a planned road show for meeting with investors. In a statement, the company said it still expects to complete its initial public offering by the end of the year.
But it may be at a significantly lower valuation than expected. WeWork had been considering pricing its shares at a level that would value it at between $15 billion and $20 billion — less than half the $47 billion the company was valued at in the private markets when it raised funding from SoftBank in January. WeWork brought in revenue of $1.8 billion last year, but its losses grew to $1.6 billion. The company needs to raise at least $3 billion in its IPO in order to get access to $6 billion in financing that it conditionally secured from a group of banks.