WeWork owner reportedly accepts SoftBank's US$10bn takeover: media reports

WeWork’s owner has reportedly accepted a rescue deal proposed by major investor Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, which media reports say is offering the firm a US$10bn bailout.

SoftBank, which already owns a third of the office space sharing firm, will also pay US$1.7bn WeWork founder Adam Neumann – who resigned as chief executive last month following pressure – to leave his post as chairman, according to Reuters.

READ: WeWork to end up controlled by SoftBank Group under bailout package: Media Reports

WeWork, which is the biggest tenant in New York and one of the largest in London, has been shoring up its finances after parent company We Company pulled its plans for an initial public offering last month.

We Company was valued at $47 billion in a SoftBank investment report early this year but its valuation was slashed to around $20 billion, forcing the IPO to be pulled. 

The New York-based company lost more than $900 million in the first half of 2019, up 25% from a year earlier, even as its revenue doubled to $1.54 billion, as it burned through cash to expand.

Story by ProactiveInvestors