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WeWork Bonds Tank as Firm Seeks JPMorgan Junk-Debt Lifeline
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Debt package may include $2 billion of notes with 15% coupon
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Bank is said to be sounding out investors for $5 billion deal
Bloomberg’s Davide Scigliuzzo reports on WeWork preferring JPMorgan’s financing package over rescue from SoftBank.
WeWork’s bankers are pitching investors on what would be one of the riskiest junk-debt offerings in recent years, sending the company’s existing bonds into freefall.
A roughly $5 billion financing package led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the company’s preferred option, rather than selling a controlling stake in itself to SoftBank Group Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter. The structure and terms under discussion may change depending on investor appetite. Notably, the financing may include at least $2 billion of unsecured payment-in-kind notes with an unusually hefty 15% coupon, one person said. The deal may give the venture’s top private shareholders a final chance to avoid having their stakes severely diluted.
