Adam Neumann of WeWork and Victor Fung Kwok-king, right, chairman of Fung Group, attend a signing ceremony at WeWork’s Weihai Road location on April 12, 2018 in Shanghai, China.
Jackal Pan | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Adam Neumann has submitted an unsolicited bid in excess of $500 million to acquire WeWork out of bankruptcy, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
That bid could go up to $900 million pending due diligence, the person said.
Neumann’s financing was not immediately clear, although people familiar with the matter told CNBC that Dan Loeb’s Third Point was not involved in the offer. Neumann’s counsel had previously said that Loeb’s investment firm was backing the WeWork founder’s offer, but Third Point disputed that assertion in a prior statement.
The uncertainty over Neumann’s financing, coupled with his track record at the company, could dampen WeWork’s receptiveness to his offer. Neumann, his family office Nazare, and his a16z-backed (real estate venture Flow filed a notice of appearance in WeWork’s bankruptcy docket on Monday.
“Two weeks ago, a coalition of half a dozen financing partners — whose identities are known to WeWork and its advisors — submitted a potential bid for substantially more” than the initially reported $500 million, a Flow spokesperson said in a statement. Flow did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment regarding the $900 million potential bid.
The offer comes weeks after it emerged Neumann had renewed interest in taking back the company he was ousted from five years ago. WeWork filed for bankruptcy in 2023 after years of struggles, and has been working with bankruptcy advisors to restructure and streamline the business.
“As we’ve said previously, WeWork is an extraordinary company and it’s no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis. Our Board and our advisors review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company,” a WeWork spokesperson said Monday in a statement.
Neumann’s bid, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, may complexify WeWork’s bankruptcy proceedings. The company is seeking to reject numerous leases, meaning it would be able to walk away from longer-term commitments in less lucrative markets. Some of WeWork’s lessors have fought those efforts.
