SoftBank Takes Over WeWork in Fell Swoop Board Approval
Co-founder and former CEO Adam Neumann steps down from WeWork board in new management deal.
NEW YORK CITY— SoftBank Group Corp., a Japan-based conglomerate, has won board approval of co-working firm WeWork to take over the cash-strapped company. The vote will add to the further influence Softbank has over the company who already owns a third of the co-working firm, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal.
In the past several weeks, after a flopped initial public offering, WeWork poached both Softbank and JPMorgan Chase & Co., for a lifeline on a deadline that ended yesterday.
As part of the deal, SoftBank will buy an estimated $1 billion of WeWork parent stock from Neumann. Also, the Tokyo-based firm will grant him a $500 million credit line to partially repay a loan facility by JPMorgan of an equal amount, and pay Neumann a $185 million consulting fee, according to the news report.
The almost $1 billion share purchase is part of as much as $3 billion from SoftBank that will extend to the company’s employees and investors.
In the deal with Softbank, WeWork will accept an $8 billion valuation a huge dip from its $47 billion valuation that its new manager boasted on the private market in January and several million below its $10 million to $12 million valuations in Septemeber.
Neumann stepped down as CEO not long after a firestorm of criticism ensued about its August IPO filing that outlined stunted cash-flow and a questionable corporate governance structure. Now, he is also expected to step down from the board, although remain a board observer and maintaining a stake in the company.