With five years having passed since he was fired from the company that he had helped found, Adam Neumann has decided to withdraw his offer to buy back WeWork. In November of last year, WeWork, which had a valuation of approximately $47 billion at one point, filed for bankruptcy. Neumann reportedly made a bid to purchase the company for more than $500 million, according to a report that was published in the Wall Street Journal in March.
Neumann, however, stated on Tuesday that his efforts have come to an end and provided a pessimistic outlook regarding the future of the company.
Neumann said in a statement that was initially reported by the New York Times that
“for several months, we tried to work constructively with WeWork to create a strategy that would allow it to thrive.”
That statement was released by Neumann. Instead, it appears that the company is currently in the process of emerging from bankruptcy with a plan that is both unrealistic and unlikely to be successful.
In April, WeWork WEWKQ announced that it had renegotiated leases on ninety percent of its property holdings, which would save the company billions of dollars in future rent payments. The company also stated that it hoped to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of this month.
After he saddled the company with a mountain of debt and after an unsuccessful attempt to launch an initial public offering (IPO), Neumann was removed from his position as CEO of the shared-workplace company in 2019.
It wasn’t until 2021 that WeWork went public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a valuation of $9 billion, which was a fraction of the $47 billion valuation it had at its peak.
Furthermore, Neumann went on to establish the real estate company Flow in the year 2022, with Andreessen Horowitz providing financial support.
