WeWork Inc (NYSE:WE), the bankrupt office space company, received a rescue bid worth more than US$500 million from co-founder and former chief executive Adam Neumann.
Neumann’s bid could go up to as high as US$900 million depending on due diligence.
Financing for the bid has not been made clear but reports state Dan Loeb’s Third Point was not involved.
Third Point, the investment firm, had previously disputed claims by Neumann’s council that it was backing his offer.
Neumann along with his family office Nazare and his real estate venture Flow issued a notice of appearance in WeWork’s bankruptcy docket on Monday.
“Two weeks ago, a coalition of half a dozen financing partners — whose identities are known to WeWork and its advisors — submitted a potential bid for substantially more” than the US$500 million reported, a Flow spokesperson said.
Neumann was ousted from WeWork five years ago having faced poor stock price performance and having faced numerous accusations of mismanagement.
In 2023, WeWork filed for bankruptcy and has been working with administrators since to help streamline and restructure the business.
“WeWork is an extraordinary company and it’s no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis,” the company said in a statement.
“Our Board and our advisors review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company.”