Wework creates committee to mull financial lifeline
The owner of Wework has reportedly set up a committee to decide whether it will accept a financial lifeline from its largest shareholder and main lender.
In a move that will likely decide the fate of the embattled firm’s future, the We Company has put together a special board committee to consider proposals for a $5bn rescue package, according to Reuters.
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Proposals from Japanese shareholder Softbank, which already owns roughly a third of Wework, and lender JP Morgan come as the company rushes to find new capital after abandoning plans to float.
Wework is creating the committee in a bid to ring-fence its financing deliberations from SoftBank’s influence, sources told Reuters.
The news site reported that the committee will only have two members, Bruce Dunlevie, a a general partner at Wework shareholder Benchmark Capital, and Lew Frankfort, who is the former boss of luxury handbag maker Coach.
Wework has not responded to a request for comment.
Read more: Wework set to sack 2,000 employees
The office-sharing firm was forced to ditch its highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year as investors baulked at the firm’s huge losses.
Co-founder and chief executive Adam Neumann was forced to step down in the wake of the botched listing.
New bosses Sebastian Gunningham and Artie Minson are now expected to shut branches and offload non-core parts of the business as they look to cut costs.