WeWork’s Founder (Adam Neumann) is attempting to Acquire the company

Adam Neumann gained fame by founding and transforming WeWork into a cultural and business phenomenon before being forcefully removed from the workspace operator.

However, for the past few months, he has been working on buying the now-bankrupt business with the assistance of hedge fund mogul Dan Loeb, as reported by DealBook.

According to a letter sent by Neumann's lawyers to WeWork's advisors on Monday, his new real estate company, Flow Global, is urging WeWork to consider its takeover proposal. The letter also revealed that Flow has already secured $350 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and that Loeb's Third Point would help finance the transaction. (Read the letter.)

Flow has expressed interest in acquiring WeWork or its assets and offering bankruptcy financing to keep it operational.

However, Flow's legal team has accused WeWork of stalling for months. In a letter led by Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, who also represents Elon Musk and Jay-Z, the lawyers wrote, "We write to express our dismay with WeWork’s lack of engagement even to provide information to my clients in what is intended to be a value-maximizing transaction for all stakeholders."

This is the latest twist for WeWork, which, over its 14-year history, became a symbol of excessive venture capital. The company experienced rapid growth, becoming the largest tenant in many major cities and achieving a paper valuation of $47 billion. Backed by billions from the Japanese tech giant SoftBank, Neumann increasingly presented WeWork as a means to "elevate the world's consciousness."

However, Neumann stepped down as CEO in 2019 after WeWork failed to go public, largely due to investor concerns about its business model and corporate governance. The company began to face difficulties and repeatedly sought to renegotiate leases and reduce costs. (It remains uncertain whether WeWork's stakeholders would be willing to sell the company back to the man viewed by some as contributing to its troubles.)

WeWork filed for bankruptcy in November. In a restructuring plan submitted to the bankruptcy court on Sunday, the company disclosed over $4 billion in secured debt, with SoftBank among its major creditors. During a court hearing on Monday, lawyers representing landlords and others expressed concerns about WeWork's ability to pay rent. (Read more)

Some experts have suggested that WeWork could be sold for a fraction of its outstanding debt, potentially as little as $500 million.