Adam Neumann (twitter)
Adam Neumann wants to buy back WeWork, if the extraordinary reports that say so are accurate. The same man who probably killed the company now wants it back – now that it is bankrupt.
Well, considering that WeWork is bankrupt he can probably get a good bargain on whatever is left. And why not take it back? This is the man, remember, who copyrighted basically any conceivable two-word phrase starting with “We,” or so it seemed at the time.
According to the report in the New York Times, Adam Neumann’s new real estate venture Flow Global, together with Dan Loeb’s Third Point fund, are seriously interested in buying WeWork and have been making offers for it over the past few months. They have even offered to finance the company during its bankruptcy in a way that would allow it to restart operations.
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Bankruptcy does not mean the end for a firm. Many use bankruptcy protections to work on a restructuring plan. However, WeWork was already delisted from the NYSE. And its current owners are reportedly ignoring overtures from Adam Neuman and his partners.
Lawyers for Adam Neumann and his partners reported the Times, sent a letter to WeWork complaining, “We write to express our dismay with WeWork’s lack of engagement even to provide information to my clients in what is intended to be a value-maximizing transaction for all stakeholders.”
WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey. The company quickly grew and became a unicorn, reaching a valuation of over $47 billion in 2019. However, WeWork’s IPO in 2019 was met with controversy due to concerns about its financials and corporate governance. The IPO was eventually withdrawn and WeWork was taken over by SoftBank, its largest investor.
The company once had a valuation of $47 billion. But in August, the NYSE suspended trading in the WeWork’s warrants because, said the exchange, its price was “abnormally low.” This came after the firm announced plans for a list ditch effort to save itself by offering a reverse stock split. And at that time WeWork stated that it would not appeal the move suspending trading of its warrants. Warrants are an equity derivative that gives the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a company’s shares.
In 2019, Neumann was forced out of WeWork, the company which he founded in 2010. After a meteoric rise, the entrepreneur was brought down after allegations of serious drug use and sexual improprieties were made. WeWork was forced to deal with sexual harassment suits. It delayed its planned IPO and laid off many workers.
But Adam Neumann reportedly walked away with a $1.7 billion deal. And so he used this money to acquire real estate and invest in a few new ventures.
