Adam Neumann’s bid to buy back WeWork essentially ended this week. A bankruptcy court on Monday approved a deal that gets WeWork out of debt. It could complete its restructuring and emerge from bankruptcy at the end of May after a vote on the agreement, thanks to financing of 450 million dollars. largely provided by WeWork lender and real estate technology provider Yardi Systems.
That deal would eliminate $4 billion in debt and also close the door on Neumann. He has been persistent in his efforts to buy the company he co-founded, but which investors then forced him out of, offering more than 500 million dollars and follow up with promises to beat any other offer by 10 percent.
A spokesperson for Neumann would not comment on whether he will proceed with the WeWork purchase or what this means for the future of Flow, Neumann’s new company that aims to transform the residential rental experience.
“After misleading the court for weeks, WeWork finally admitted that it is trying to sell the company to a group led by Yardi for much less than we continue to propose, so we anticipate that there will be strong objections to the confirmation of this plan,” it says. Susheel. Kirpalani, Flow lawyer.
WeWork is prepared to outbid. “Over the past six months, we have worked very hard to develop a plan for a reorganized WeWork that is better capitalized, more operationally efficient, and positioned for continued investment in our products and services and a return to long-term growth,” WeWork CEO David Tolley said in a statement announcing the plan.
In 2022, Neumann announced that he was working on Flow and secured $350 million in backing from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, known as a16z. It wasn’t clear at first what exactly the startup would do, but Neumann said he would “elevate” the experience of renting an apartment.
So far, it’s been about renaming the condos, increasing amenities and adding new building management technology developed by Flow. The company thrown out Buildings flow in Fort Lauderdale and Miami in April, brand change existing condos you previously purchased under the flow name. One-bedroom apartments available in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting at $2,500 per month and starting at $2,900 in Miami.
Flow owns six buildings in total, including some in Nashville and Atlanta that have not been renamed Flow. Bloomberg reported in March that Flow is planning a $300 million development in downtown Miami that would include residential, commercial and work spaces. Neumann had previously tried to venture into real estate with we livean idea of coexistence linked to WeWork, which ultimately failed.
Neumann has said that Flow “compete or associate” with WeWork as more people work from home. Since a partnership now seems unlikely, it seems the two may compete.
“Adam can decide to become a CEO in times of war or in times of peace,” says Eric Koester, a professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Georgetown University. The wartime route would include taking over WeWork and quickly building some sort of competitor. The peacetime route, Koester says, would depend on differentiating Flow.