[goatinaboat]

Does WeWork ever need to IPO?

Yes. The Vision Fund, like all VC funds, has a finite lifespan that all the investors agreed to when they funded it.

[YokoZar]

They could do a direct listing instead - it's like an IPO but without raising additional capital. Just put your existing shares on the market.

WeWork, though, needs a lot more than new capital.

[dodobirdlord]

True, but there's always the possibility of the Vision Fund selling WeWork to Softbank proper. And I don't think this round of investment is from the Vision Fund, so it appears that Softbank proper is going to end up with a larger stake than the Vision Fund already. I suppose there's also always the option of selling WeWork to Berkshire Hathaway or something if they can get it boring and profitable.

[goatinaboat]

the possibility of the Vision Fund selling WeWork to Softbank proper.

I suppose it’s theoretically possible but Vision Fund invested $10.5Bn in WeWork expecting a multiple of that back for Vision Fund investors. Where will SoftBank get that kind of money?