Adam Neumann makes a $500 million bid for WeWork that could hit $900 million if financing and diligence firm up

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
Andreessen
Horowitz-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.