軟銀接盤WeWork，諾伊曼退位

The WeWork board agreed to a multibillion-dollar bailout and investment package from SoftBank on Tuesday, handing control of the cash-strapped company to the Japanese technology group and releasing it from the grip of its co-founder Adam Neumann, according to people briefed on the matter.

知情人士稱，WeWork董事會周二同意接受日本科技集團軟銀(SoftBank)的數(shù)十億美元紓困和投資方案，把這家資金短缺的公司的控制權(quán)交給軟銀，使之?dāng)[脫聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人亞當(dāng)•諾伊曼(Adam Neumann)的掌控。

SoftBank, which was already WeWork’s largest backer, is to pump $6.5bn into the shared office company through new loans and equity, and will provide Mr Neumann a nearly $1.7bn package to step down from the board, the people said.

這些人士稱，已經(jīng)是WeWork最大股東的軟銀，將通過新的貸款和股本，向這家共享辦公室公司注資65億美元，并將向諾伊曼提供近17億美元的獎酬方案，以換取他退出董事會。

The SoftBank proposal accepted by the board would set WeWork’s equity valuation at just $8bn, a fraction of the $47bn price tag the property group was assigned in the Japanese company’s last investment round.

董事會接受的軟銀提議將意味著WeWork的股權(quán)估值僅為80億美元，相比該地產(chǎn)集團在最近一輪投資期間從軟銀獲得的470億美元估值大大縮水。

SoftBank, founded by Masayoshi Son, is expected to pay Mr Neumann a roughly $185m consulting fee in return for leaving his role as chairman of the board and dropping the extra voting rights on his shares that gave him outsized influence.

由孫正義(Masayoshi Son)創(chuàng)立的軟銀預(yù)計將向諾伊曼支付約1.85億美元咨詢費，以換取其卸任董事會主席職務(wù)，并放棄其股票附帶的、使他具有超大影響力的額外投票權(quán)。

It also plans to buy nearly $1bn worth of his stock as part of a tender offer for up to $3bn of shares from early investors and employees, and to loan him $500m, the people said. Mr Neumann had loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars outstanding from a number of Wall Street lenders this summer.

知情人士稱，軟銀還計劃從他手里買下價值近10億美元的股票，作為從早期投資者和員工買下股票的30億美元收購要約的一部分，并借給他5億美元。截至今夏，諾伊曼欠華爾街多家銀行數(shù)億美元的未償還貸款。

He is expected to retain a stake in the company and remain a board observer.

預(yù)計他將保留公司一部分股份，并繼續(xù)擔(dān)任董事會觀察員。

WeWork directors had considered a rival rescue financing package from JPMorgan, the bank that led its attempt to go public and with which it has deep ties. But the Wall Street lender was unwilling to include the tender offer for existing shares as part of its package, one person said. The bank believed the tender offer overvalued WeWork equity, and acted as a bailout to Mr Neumann, they added.

WeWork董事曾考慮由摩根大通(JPMorgan)提供的救援資助方案，該行曾牽頭其上市努力，與之有著深厚的聯(lián)系。但據(jù)一位知情人士透露，該華爾街銀行不愿包括買下現(xiàn)有股票的收購要約作為其救援方案的一部分。該行相信，收購要約高估了WeWork的股權(quán)，并在實質(zhì)上起到了救助諾伊曼的作用。

The deal caps a stunning fall for Mr Neumann, who co-founded WeWork nine years ago and at one point had claim to a stake in the company worth roughly $13bn. His role as chief executive atop the property group came to an end just days after the company aborted an initial public offering, and his fortune is now worth a fraction of that earlier level.

這項交易為諾伊曼的戲劇性跌落神壇畫上句號。他在9年前與人共同創(chuàng)立WeWork，一度擁有該公司價值約130億美元的股份。在公司放棄首次公開發(fā)行(IPO)幾天后，他在這家房地產(chǎn)集團的首席執(zhí)行官職位被終結(jié)，現(xiàn)在他的身價比上述先前水平大大縮水。

Meanwhile, WeWork employees face an uncertain future, with thousands of jobs expected to be cut in a restructuring that will eat up some of the rescue funding in severance payments.

與此同時，WeWork雇員面臨一個不確定的未來，預(yù)計即將展開的重組將意味著數(shù)以千計的職位被裁，此舉造成的遣散費支出將消耗一部分救援資金。