WeWork’s multibillion-dollar rescue couldn’t save it from office bust

Embattled office-sharing firm WeWork on Aug. 8 warned U.S. regulators that it was in financial peril. When WeWork announced a multibillion-dollar rescue package earlier this year, the company’s management hailed it as a fresh start for the long-struggling global network of shared office spaces. “That means the company is likely to reorganize in Chapter 11 and continue operating in order to provide any meaningful recovery to bondholders.” WeWork’s filing — expected as soon as this week — will cap one of the more high-profile falls from grace in recent corporate history. Prior to the expected bankruptcy filing, lease expenses were on pace to cost more than $2 billion this year, according to company filings, partly reflecting the fact that many of WeWork’s leases were signed in 2018 and 2019 when rents were at their peaks. “WeWork’s model was priced for growth, so it was purposely set up to lose money for years,” according to Triton Research Chief Executive Rett Wallace, who has analyzed WeWork’s finances since its first public filings.