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WeWork
TechTech Trends

SoftBank’s WeWork, once most valuable US start-up, succumbs to bankruptcy

  • The company has reported estimated assets and liabilities ranging from US$10 billion to US$50 billion, according to a bankruptcy filing
  • WeWork China said it is not a branch or unit of WeWork and will not participate in the strategic reorganisation of WeWork in the US and Canada

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A WeWork office in San Mateo, California. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Reuters
WeWork, the SoftBank Group-backed start-up whose meteoric rise and fall reshaped the office sector globally, sought US bankruptcy protection on Monday, after its bets on companies using more of its office-sharing space soured.
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The move represents an admission by SoftBank, the Japanese technology group that owns about 60 per cent of WeWork and has invested billions of dollars in its turnaround, that the company cannot survive unless it renegotiates its pricey leases in bankruptcy.

WeWork China will not participate in the strategic reorganisation of WeWork in the US and Canada, it said on Tuesday. WeWork China is not a branch or unit of WeWork, it said in a statement on WeChat, adding the company has independent operations and management capabilities.

“Any operating conditions of WeWork in other regions around the world will not have any impact on WeWork China,” it added.

Adam Neumann, WeWork co-founder and former CEO. Photo: Getty Images
Adam Neumann, WeWork co-founder and former CEO. Photo: Getty Images

Profitability has remained elusive as WeWork grapples with its expensive leases and corporate clients cancelling because some employees work from home. Paying for space consumed 74 per cent of WeWork’s revenue in the second quarter of 2023.

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The company reported estimated assets and liabilities ranging from US$10 billion to US$50 billion, according to a bankruptcy filing.

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