Adam Neumann submits more than $500m offer to buy back WeWork
Former CEO wants to buy back office-sharing company that fell into bankruptcy
26 March 2024 - 19:45
byAishwarya Jain, Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Anirban Sen
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Bengaluru/New York — Adam Neumann has submitted a bid of more than $500m to buy back WeWork, the office-sharing company he cofounded and propelled to a $47bn valuation before it fell into bankruptcy, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
It is not clear how Neumann is planning to line up financing for his bid, the source said, requesting anonymity as the discussions were confidential.
Neumann raised WeWork to be the most valuable US start-up, worth $47bn, before his pursuit of expansion at the expense of profit and revelations about his eccentric behaviour led to his ouster in 2019 and derailed what would have been a major initial public offering.
Last month, Reuters reported Neumann was trying to buy back the SoftBank-backed flexible workspace provider, which had filed for bankruptcy in November.
“WeWork is an extraordinary company and it’s no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis,” WeWork said in a statement.
“Our board and our advisers review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company,” it added.
WeWork said it remained focused on its restructuring efforts to “emerge from Chapter 11 in the second quarter as a financially strong and profitable company”.
Last month, Neumann’s lawyers sent a letter to WeWork, saying he was exploring a joint bid for the company with Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point and other investors.
Third Point later said it had held “only preliminary conversations” with Neumann and his property company Flow and had not made any financial commitments.
WeWork scrapped its IPO in 2019 after investors raised questions about its valuation and corporate governance arrangements that gave Neumann too much control.
The company racked up losses on its long-term lease obligations as more people began working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic and demand for office space plunged.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Neumann’s bid earlier on Monday.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Adam Neumann submits more than $500m offer to buy back WeWork
Former CEO wants to buy back office-sharing company that fell into bankruptcy
Bengaluru/New York — Adam Neumann has submitted a bid of more than $500m to buy back WeWork, the office-sharing company he cofounded and propelled to a $47bn valuation before it fell into bankruptcy, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
It is not clear how Neumann is planning to line up financing for his bid, the source said, requesting anonymity as the discussions were confidential.
Neumann raised WeWork to be the most valuable US start-up, worth $47bn, before his pursuit of expansion at the expense of profit and revelations about his eccentric behaviour led to his ouster in 2019 and derailed what would have been a major initial public offering.
Last month, Reuters reported Neumann was trying to buy back the SoftBank-backed flexible workspace provider, which had filed for bankruptcy in November.
“WeWork is an extraordinary company and it’s no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis,” WeWork said in a statement.
“Our board and our advisers review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company,” it added.
WeWork said it remained focused on its restructuring efforts to “emerge from Chapter 11 in the second quarter as a financially strong and profitable company”.
Last month, Neumann’s lawyers sent a letter to WeWork, saying he was exploring a joint bid for the company with Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point and other investors.
Third Point later said it had held “only preliminary conversations” with Neumann and his property company Flow and had not made any financial commitments.
WeWork scrapped its IPO in 2019 after investors raised questions about its valuation and corporate governance arrangements that gave Neumann too much control.
The company racked up losses on its long-term lease obligations as more people began working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic and demand for office space plunged.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Neumann’s bid earlier on Monday.
Reuters
SoftBank slumps to $5.2bn quarterly loss as WeWork, tech investments bite
Workspace forecasts strong rental growth in second half of financial year
WeWork restructuring will not affect SA, owner says
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