软银接盘WeWork，诺伊曼退位

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.

知情人士称，WeWork董事会周二同意接受日本科技集团软银(SoftBank)的数十亿美元纾困和投资方案，把这家资金短缺的公司的控制权交给软银，使之摆脱联合创始人亚当•诺伊曼(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.

这些人士称，已经是WeWork最大股东的软银，将通过新的贷款和股本，向这家共享办公室公司注资65亿美元，并将向诺伊曼提供近17亿美元的奖酬方案，以换取他退出董事会。

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.

董事会接受的软银提议将意味着WeWork的股权估值仅为80亿美元，相比该地产集团在最近一轮投资期间从软银获得的470亿美元估值大大缩水。

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.

由孙正义(Masayoshi Son)创立的软银预计将向诺伊曼支付约1.85亿美元咨询费，以换取其卸任董事会主席职务，并放弃其股票附带的、使他具有超大影响力的额外投票权。

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.

知情人士称，软银还计划从他手里买下价值近10亿美元的股票，作为从早期投资者和员工买下股票的30亿美元收购要约的一部分，并借给他5亿美元。截至今夏，诺伊曼欠华尔街多家银行数亿美元的未偿还贷款。

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

预计他将保留公司一部分股份，并继续担任董事会观察员。

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董事曾考虑由摩根大通(JPMorgan)提供的救援资助方案，该行曾牵头其上市努力，与之有着深厚的联系。但据一位知情人士透露，该华尔街银行不愿包括买下现有股票的收购要约作为其救援方案的一部分。该行相信，收购要约高估了WeWork的股权，并在实质上起到了救助诺伊曼的作用。

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.

这项交易为诺伊曼的戏剧性跌落神坛画上句号。他在9年前与人共同创立WeWork，一度拥有该公司价值约130亿美元的股份。在公司放弃首次公开发行(IPO)几天后，他在这家房地产集团的首席执行官职位被终结，现在他的身价比上述先前水平大大缩水。

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.

与此同时，WeWork雇员面临一个不确定的未来，预计即将展开的重组将意味着数以千计的职位被裁，此举造成的遣散费支出将消耗一部分救援资金。