WeWork’s future as a public company collided headlong this week with investors’ biggest concern: What happens in a downturn?
Nine hours after the co-working company filed its IPO prospectus, the Dow plunged 800 points on Wednesday. With a possible recession looming, WeWork’s parent, the We Company, disclosed that over the next 15 years, it has $47 billion in lease commitments. That’s the same amount as its latest valuation, and that figure is in addition to $6 billion debt.