WeWork Downgraded by Fitch as Recession Fears Mount

(Bloomberg) — WeWork Inc. was downgraded one notch by Fitch Scores because the office-sharing upstart continues to lose cash and struggles to capitalize on a return-to-office push taking place at firms globally.

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Fitch lowered its ranking on WeWork to CCC from CCC+ Friday, saying its challenges will solely be exacerbated within the coming yr as firms trim employees, cut back spending in anticipation of a recession and transfer slowly to retreat from hybrid work schedules.

Fitch additionally downgraded the corporate’s senior unsecured bonds one notch to CC from CCC-. Costs for its 7.875% bonds due 2025 have plummeted by nearly 50% since their issuance in 2018 and are actually altering arms at round 51 cents on the greenback, as of 4:22 p.m. in New York, Hint information present.

Learn extra: Junk or Actually Junky? The Diverging Views on WeWork’s New Bonds

The downgrade comes after the corporate’s earnings fell wanting Wall Road’s expectations within the third quarter. WeWork famous it had misplaced $629 million, in contrast with a median estimate of $367 million. And though extra employees have come again to the places of work, reaching its pre-pandemic numbers is more likely to show powerful, Fitch stated.

WeWork made its public markets debut in October 2021 following a merger with particular objective acquisition firm BowX Acquisition Corp. It failed in its first effort to go public in 2019.

Fitch was probably the most bullish credit score grader when the agency made its debut bond deal in 2018, assigned the debt a BB- ranking, which is speculative however with satisfactory monetary flexibility. S&P International Score’s and Moody’s Traders Service’s have been much less optimistic, with their rankings starting from B+ to Caa1.

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