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Adam Neumann, the former chief executive and co-founder of WeWork, is trying to regain control of the bankrupt co-working company less than five years after the board forced him out, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. On Monday, Neumann’s lawyers sent a letter to WeWork’s advisers saying that he is partnering with Dan Loeb’s Third Point hedge-fund firm and other investors in exploring a bid for the company. That effort is already facing challenges. Some WeWork creditors have signaled they are ready to sell the firm after it exits chapter 11, according to people familiar with the matter. But WeWork executives have been cool to Neumann’s interest. They have shut him out from information he would need to submit a bid for the company since he initially approached WeWork in December, according to Neumann’s letter that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. It also isn’t clear how committed Third Point is to working with Neumann on a WeWork acquisition. A Third Point spokeswoman said the hedge fund “has not made a commitment to participate in any transaction” and had “only preliminary conversations” with Flow Global, Neumann’s real-estate company. WeWork lawyers said on Monday that the company is running short on cash and needs more money to get through its costly chapter 11 cases. In Neumann’s letter to WeWork, he said the current financial crunch was caused by the management’s lack of ability to “explore alternatives” for financial support.

WeWork may be forced to take on a new bankruptcy loan to make up for slower-than-expected progress on rent negotiations, an attorney for the shared office space provider said yesterday, Reuters reported. WeWork's post-bankruptcy business plan is premised on a significant reduction in future rent costs from its landlords, and WeWork is at a crossroads in that effort, according to attorneys for WeWork and its landlords who spoke at a bankruptcy court hearing in Newark, N.J. Several of WeWork's landlords decried the company's "hardball tactics", saying that U.S. bankruptcy law requires companies to keep up with rent for properties that they continue to use. Kris Hansen, an attorney representing WeWork creditors, said that WeWork has shown "painfully little progress" in its discussions with landlords, raising doubts about the company's long-term ability to pay its debts. WeWork attorney Steven Serajeddini acknowledged that the company's initial round of negotiations had been headed for "certain failure," but he said WeWork has had more success after withholding as much as $33 million in January rent from certain landlords. WeWork initially believed it could make it through its bankruptcy case using the $164 million of cash it had on hand in November, but it now believes that amount to be insufficient and is considering taking out a new bankruptcy loan, Serajeddini said. A new loan would likely be converted into WeWork equity after the company emerges from bankruptcy, he said.

WeWork will make its first U.S. bankruptcy court appearance today, seeking to advance a restructuring proposal that could cut $3 billion in debt and shrink the company's real estate footprint, Reuters reported. The Softbank-backed office space-sharing company filed for bankruptcy protection in Newark, N.J., bankruptcy court on Monday, seeking to address more than $4 billion in debt and unsustainable rent costs. WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, expanded at breakneck speed but racked up steep losses on its long-term lease obligations after a post-COVID plunge in demand for office space. After an earlier effort to restructure its debts failed to stave off bankruptcy, WeWork reached a restructuring agreement with over 90% of its bondholders to convert $3 billion of debt into equity in the company. Softbank, which currently owns about 70% of the company, would retain an equity stake under the proposed restructuring. WeWork managed to renegotiate 590 leases before filing for bankruptcy, saving about $12.7 billion in future rent payments. But it says it has more work to do to get rent costs under control. The company has identified 69 leases it intends to break in the initial days of its bankruptcy, including 41 in New York City, and it could seek to reject additional leases later in its bankruptcy. WeWork said it is seeking to renegotiate terms on other leases with 400 landlords.
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In related news, WeWork's $3 billion debt for equity swap deal with its creditors marks the latest effort by top shareholder SoftBank to revive the troubled office-space provider and recoup some of the billions it has invested, Reuters reported. Whether the bet succeeds now depends on WeWork renegotiating the costly long-term leases it signed during the boom years and is now unable to pay, forcing it to file for bankruptcy on Monday. WeWork's long-term lease obligations of $13.3 billion accounted for more than 70% of its total debt as of end-June. Those deals, many agreed during a period of breakneck growth under founder Adam Neumann, became a crippling burden as the post-COVID shift towards working from home led to a plunge in demand for office space. Neumann quit as CEO in 2019, bowing to pressure from some investors. WeWork renegotiated some of its leases to reduce its obligations by more than $2 billion since the end of 2022. Read more.