Adam Neumann says WeWork offering is not dead

WeWork appears poised to emerge from bankruptcy without co-founder Adam Neumann rejoining the group, but its former chief executive continues to rail against the restructuring deal.

Neumann again rejected WeWork’s plan to move forward at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in San Francisco. He claimed the tender process was “not yet complete” despite many signs pointing to the opposite.

Neumann called WeWork’s restructuring plan “definitely unworkable.” He claimed the company was forecasting performance benchmarks that were unrealistic; The company predicts that utilization of its locations will rise to 85 percent in five years, but Neumann and others previously thought that was unrealistic.

One of Neumann’s most telling comments came when he was asked if his pursuit of WeWork was a pursuit of redemption. He admitted that there were some emotions involved, then added that he doesn’t make decisions “that way.”

Neumann’s objections to WeWork’s restructuring plan are well known at this point. He offered $650 million to buy his old company, but WeWork is sold to Yardi instead, which Neumann said was an inside job.

Neumann also clashed with WeWork over its alleged unwillingness to enter into a nondisclosure agreement to continue negotiations. He has also claimed that WeWork made false statements against him and his offer to buy the coworking company.

Neumann was forced out of WeWork in 2019 after a failed IPO attempt. WeWork struggled with losses for years and filed for bankruptcy last year. Neumann founded a new company, Flow, focused on residential apartment management, late last year.

WeWork announced its agreement to exit bankruptcy last month. It includes a capital injection from Yardi Systems of $337 million and a capital injection from existing bondholders of $112 million. According to a company spokesperson, the $450 million investment, subject to court approval, will support the company’s post-bankruptcy operations.

— Holden Walter Warner