Adam Neumann, co-founder and former CEO of WeWork.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | fake images
Adam Neumann has submitted an unsolicited offer of more than $500 million to acquire We work of bankruptcy, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
That offer could be as high as $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 bid. Neumann's lawyer had previously said that Loeb's investment firm supported the WeWork founder's bid, but Third Point disputed that claim in an earlier statement.
Uncertainty over Neumann's financing, along with his track record at the company, could dampen WeWork's receptiveness to his offer. Neumann, his Nazare family office and his real estate company Flow, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, filed a notice of appearance in WeWork's bankruptcy filing on Monday.
“Two weeks ago, a coalition of a half-dozen financial partners, whose identities are known to WeWork and its advisors, submitted a potential offer for much more” than the $500 million initially reported, a Flow spokesperson said in a statement. Flow did not respond to CNBC's request for comment on the potential $900 million offer.
The offer comes weeks after it emerged that Neumann had renewed interest in taking back the company from which he was ousted 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 have said previously, WeWork is an extraordinary company and it is not surprising that 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 that we always act in the best long-term interests of the company,” a WeWork spokesperson said in a statement Monday.
Neumann's offer, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, may complicate WeWork's bankruptcy proceedings. The company is trying to reject numerous leases, which would mean it could abandon longer-term commitments in less lucrative markets. Some of WeWork's landlords have opposed those efforts.
