Investing

'Stop the WeWork deal' — Cramer says the embattled IPO could wreck the stock market rally

Key Points
  • WeWork should pull its IPO because the negative sentiment around slashing its valuation could be contagious in the overall stock market, says CNBC's Jim Cramer.
  • "I don't want WeWork at any price," says the "Mad Money" host. "There are certain deals that can come and they can just really take the air out of any market."
  • "We don't want to give them money. They're just going to screw up the market," says Cramer.
Jim Cramer: Stop the WeWork IPO
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Jim Cramer: Stop the WeWork IPO

CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday that WeWork should pull its embattled initial public offering because the negative sentiment around slashing its valuation could be contagious in the overall stock market.

"Stop the WeWork deal," Cramer said on "Squawk Box." "We don't want that deal. I just wish they would go away."

Despite a number of a setbacks, including a dramatic cut in its valuation, the office-sharing start-up said it's full speed ahead, with sources telling CNBC that the IPO roadshow could kick off as soon as Monday.

"I don't want WeWork at any price," Cramer said. "There are certain deals that can come and they can just really take the air out of any market."

WeWork's plans to move forward despite the reported advice from its major investor, SoftBank, which will likely face a multibillion-dollar write-down if the company debuts at a valuation between $15 billion and $20 billion. SoftBank invested $2 billion in WeWork in January at a valuation of $47 billion. On Friday, CNBC's David Faber was hearing the valuation could be $15 billion or lower.

"Why can't they just say, 'Hey, we're awful and we're going to wait until we're good again,'" Cramer said. "We don't want to give them money. They're just going to screw up the market," the "Mad Money" host added.

On Friday, in an amended IPO filing, The We Co., owner of WeWork, announced plans to list on the Nasdaq.

Addressing sharp criticism over its corporate governance, WeWork also reduced founder and CEO Adam Neumann's voting power. The filing also said that "no members of Adam's family will sit on our board."

Earlier this month, WeWork announced that Neumann would return a controversial $5.9 million trademark payment. The company also appointed its first female director to the board.

— Reuters contribute to this report.