Five years after being ousted from WeWork, founder and former chief executive officer Adam Neumann is looking to buy back the shared office provider.
According to News.com.au, Neumann is hoping to use his new venture, Flow Global to purchase the company and has been trying to meet with the company for months to negotiate a deal.
Lawyers, including Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, wrote a letter detailing Neumann’s attempts to purchase his former company via his new real estate company.
The letter sent to WeWork’s advisers said that Flow would get additional capital from hedge fund titan Dan Loeb to buy WeWork or its assets, as well as provide bankruptcy financing.
Neumann’s lawyers said that WeWork had a “lack of engagement” with him and had not provided the information required for the former CEO to make an offer.
Mr Spiro said Neumann, and affiliates of his latest venture, had worked since December 2023 “to obtain information necessary for an offer to purchase the company or its assets,” though “they still do not have access to that information”.
The letter claims that this avoidance has “jeopardised” WeWork and “has failed to maximise value for all stakeholders — the goal of any bankruptcy process”.
Neumann was pushed out in 2019 after WeWork failed to get on to the US stock market.
As a major shareholder, Neumann was able to negotiate an exit package of $245 million in company stock and $200 million in cash to leave the company.
Since his high-profile exit, WeWork has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as interest rates rose and demand for office space declined with more workers choosing to work from home.
The company is also facing problems from its landlords, who have taken the company to court over doubts about its stability.
Before Neumann was forced out of the firm after a string of controversies — including when he allegedly left marijuana in a cereal box on a borrowed private plane as well as announcing that WeWork was banning meat at employee events.
