WeWork’s board has reportedly accepted a $10 billion takeover plan proposed by its Japanese investor Softbank Group, in a move that will secure new financing for the troubled company.
SoftBank is the largest investor of The We Company, WeWork’s parent company. Prior to the takeover, SoftBank had already invested $10.65 billion in the space-sharing company.
Under the deal, the potential valuation of WeWork would drop to about $8 billion, falling from a $47 billion valuation reported in January. The company has grown from a single office in New York City to more than 500 locations around the world. But it lost about $900 million in the first six months of this year.
We Work plans to lay off thousands of employees and opted to shut down its school, WeGrow, in 2020. Also, WeWork has lost its communications chief, Jimmy Asci, its chief marketing officer, Robin Daniels, and several others.
Last month, WeWork abandoned its initial public offering and Adam Ne