WeWork founder Adam Neumann seeks to acquire bankrupt companies 5 years after being ousted

Adam Neumann founded the company in 2010.

Five years after being ousted from co-working giant WeWork, Adam Neumann is trying to buy back the bankrupt company, The Wall Street Journal reports. New York Times. The 44-year-old’s new real estate company, Flow Global, is trying to negotiate a deal to acquire WeWork or its assets or provide debt financing for it. An attorney for the company sent a letter to WeWork advisers on February 5, saying he had been trying to meet with them for months.

Hedge fund billionaire Dan Loeb, whose Third Point investment firm is known for buying up troubled companies, has backed Neumann in his attempt to revive WeWork.

However, WeWork advisers are hesitant to negotiate with the former CEO. Neumann’s attorney said WeWork had a “lack of contact” with him and didn’t provide him with the information he needed to bid for the company or finance its debt. The company has more than $4 billion in debt, the outlet reported.

“We are writing to express our frustration with WeWork’s lack of engagement or even providing information to my client in what was supposed to be a transaction that maximized value for all stakeholders,” the legal team said.

The letter said WeWork had previously rejected Neumann’s proposal, the outlet reported. Notably, when Mr. Neumann attempted to “arrange up to $1 billion in financing to stabilize WeWork in October 2022,” the company’s then-CEO Sandeep Mathrani “ The process was shut down without any explanation” and “the participants were effectively left in limbo”. Air travel. “

“In a hybrid work world, demand for WeWork’s products should be greater than ever, and my clients believe the synergies and management expertise provided by the acquisition could significantly exceed the debtor’s standalone value. WeWork should at least educate attorneys “We must fully realize this potential and not exclude ourselves from maximizing value,” the letter stated. “

Meanwhile, WeWork told guardian It “regularly receives expressions of interest from external parties” and evaluates them “in the best interests of the company”. “We continue to believe that the work we are currently doing – addressing unsustainable rent expenses and restructuring our business – will ensure that WeWork remains an independent, valuable, financially strong and affordable company long into the future,” the statement said. A sustainable company.”

Adam Neumann founded the company in 2010, and by 2019 it was worth $47 billion. WeWork’s operations have been in decline since its failed initial public offering in 2019. After investing billions of dollars in an attempt to save the company, the company’s majority owner SoftBank eventually took it public through a special purpose acquisition company in 2021. The failure of the deal led to the resignation of founder Adam Neumann as CEO and caused a sharp decline in WeWork’s valuation, which once reached as high as $47 billion.