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Former CEO and co-founder of WeWork Inc. Adam Neumann, has put forth a bid exceeding $500 million to reclaim ownership of the distressed company, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal published Monday an article that discloses Neumann's bid to buy back WeWork, the office-sharing company he co-founded and propelled to a $47 billion valuation before it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in November of last year.

Adam Neumann's Bid to Buy Back WeWork

Sources familiar with the matter emphasized the uncertainty surrounding Neumann's financial arrangements for the acquisition, as per Reuters.

While the exact financing details remain undisclosed, a spokesperson for Flow, a real-estate venture founded by Neumann, emphasized a coalition of financing partners had submitted a bid exceeding the reported $500 million figure.

"WeWork is an extraordinary company, and it's no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis," stated a WeWork spokesperson in response to the bid. "Our board and our advisers review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company."

Neumann's interest in repurchasing the company has been a subject of speculation for weeks now.

Earlier in February, reports surfaced suggesting Neumann's collaboration with Dan Loeb's Third Point hedge fund to explore a potential offer for WeWork. However, the WSJ clarified that Third Point is not involved in the current bid.

Neuman's Exit from WeWork in 2019

Neumann's bid to regain control of WeWork comes five years after his departure from the company. He was ousted in 2019 from the firm after a failed attempt to go public on the stock exchange.

In 2021, WeWork finally went public via a SPAC, but at a valuation of $9 billion, significantly lower than its peak valuation of $47 billion, as reported by MarketWatch.

WeWork faced intensified challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as widespread lockdowns and the shift to remote work presented obstacles for the company's co-working space offerings.

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