WeWork co-founder and former CEO Adam Neumann is in advanced talks to resolve a high profile litigation with SoftBank Group Corp. by having a cut in its payout by the company’s new owner for shared office space, a This would help pave the way for WeWorks’ second attempt at a public listing.
According to the terms discussed, SoftBank
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would spend approximately $ 1.5 billion buying the stock of early WeWork investors and employees, including nearly $ 500 million buying Neumann stock – about half of what was originally agreed, in both cases according to the people familiar with the talks.
SoftBank acquired a majority stake in WeWork after the attempted IPO collapsed in 2019 when public investors declined to buy the shares in the money-losing company as well as Neumann’s conflicts of interest and erratic behavior. Neumann resigned as CEO after the IPO debacle under pressure.
Negotiations have been rocky at times and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached, but if there is, it could be finalized in the coming days, people said.
Should an agreement be reached, another deal could follow as WeWork is also in talks to merge with a special purpose vehicle. That move would eventually convert it into a public company.
An expanded version of this report is posted on WSJ.com.
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