Time to pack it up. It’s been a tough couple of years for WeWork, but they’ve officially reached a new chapter—bankruptcy. The global coworking startup once valued at $47B just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

• Scoop: The bankruptcy filing only applies to US and Canada locations. Franchised locations of WeWork are not affected by this.

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🔎  First, the details

WeWork members, no need to panic yet. Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow the company to restructure their finances to reduce existing debt. They’ll still serve existing members, partners, vendors, and stakeholders as usual though.

• The company requested the ability to reject the leases of certain locations, which are largely non-operational. 
• In a petition filed at a New Jersey court, WeWork reported listed assets of over $15B. David Tolley, WeWork CEO, also announced that 90% of the company’s lenders have converted their $3B debt into equity. 

Their footprint. Backed by SoftBank, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs, WeWork currently has 777 locations in over 39 countries. 

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🤑 Cha-ching

Once high-ballers, WeWork’s valuation fell fast after their aggressive growth plan and global expansion strategy went bust. 

• Their strategy of mass buying office spaces via long-term leases resulted in many underperforming properties that led to losses.   

The context. In 2021, WeWork IPO-d through a SPAC, but not before a series of troubles which included Adam Neumann exiting the company. This, in turn, led to a huge settlement between the company and Softbank.

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👋 What about SEA?

We can continue relaxing in our air-conditioned office spaces. In an email announcement to Philippine-based WeWork members, the company said they “expect there to be no changes to WeWork’s operations.”

• The Straits Times also reported that the company had no plans to shutter the business in Singapore.