WeWork India, the Indian arm of US-based We Company is reportedly facing challenges on the funding front. The company was hoping to raise $100 million from ICICI Bank Limited, but reports indicate the talks with the bank have broken down. The company is now trying to raise funds through private investors.
The underlying reason for this predicament is the failure of the IPO that the parent company had embarked upon in the US.
WeWork India is a joint venture between Jitu Virwani’s Embassy Group based out of Dubai and the Blackstone Group Inc of US, an entity already familiar to Indian businesses. Among rumours that the franchise might sell its Indian business back to the parent We Company, Virwani says that is now a thing of the past and they are not continuing those discussions any longer. The primary aim is to pump in funds into the Indian operations and his Embassy Group is willing to pitch in with the funds, if push comes to shove.
Embassy is already working on raising around $560 million and part of those funds could be used to help the Indian operations. Jitu Virwani’s son Karan is heading WeWork India.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, WeWork India offers co-working spaces in five more cities, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida and Pune. The company has an inventory of 45,000 seats and is keen on doubling this number.
The promoter of the Indian arm has admitted that the setback from the IPO of the parent company has affected their plans. After the founder of We Company stepped down, the company has been undergoing an overhaul. But Virwani is quite firm that there enough funds available from within their other operations and no matter what, they will go ahead with their plans and make WeWork India a success.