WeWork's new executive chairman Marcelo Claure on Wednesday defended huge payouts to the office-sharing company's founder Adam Neumann and said there is now"zero risk of the company going bankrupt," according to an audio recording of a meeting he held with employees that was reviewed by Reuters.
Neumann has the right to sell his stake in the company for as much as US$970 million, sources previously told Reuters, as part of a tender offer in which SoftBank will buy up to US$3 billion in WeWork shares from investors and employees. He currently owns a little over one-fifth of WeWork. In August, WeWork filed for a splashy initial public offering. This week, it was struggling for survival as it has been quickly burning through the cash on its balance sheet.The IPO was abandoned in September as investors baulked at sky-high valuations - a deal in January had tagged its worth at US$47 billion. The rescue by SoftBank now values it at just US$8 billion.
"My goal is to be part of one of the most amazing comebacks in history and to build jointly with you guys," said Claure, who is also the chief operating officer at SoftBank.However, it was going to focus very differently, he said."Make no mistake, the world has changed. The growth stories don't sell any more," he said. Adding that the challenge was to"build a company that has an amazing product, that delights our customers, but also makes money.