We Co. CEO under scrutiny for conflict of interest issue

January 17, 2019
Share this Post: 

The former WeWork company (now rebranded to We Company) is under suspicion for a potential conflict of interest regarding CEO Adam Neumann's partial ownership of three properties whose tenant is his own company, WeWork.

TechCrunch has seen excerpts of the company’s prospectus for investors that details upwards of $100 million in total future rents WeWork will pay to properties owned, in part, by Adam Neumann.

In March 2018, Neumann had purchased a 50 percent stake in 88 University Place alongside fashion designer Elie Tahari. That property was then leased by WeWork, which then leased space within the building to IBM.

The WSJ has reported that 88 University Place isn’t alone. Neumann also personally invested in properties in San Jose that are either currently leased to WeWork as a tenant or are earmarked for such a purpose. Unlike 88 University, where Neumann is a 50/50 owner with Tahari, the CEO of the We Company — as WeWork is now known — invested in the two San Jose properties as part of a real estate consortium and owns a smaller stake of an unspecified percentage.

These transactions were all disclosed in the company prospectus documents it filed as part of its $700 million bond sale in April 2018. According to the prospectus, WeWork’s total future rents on these properties (partially owned by Neumann) are $110.8 million, as of December 2017.

Read more here

Join us in Bangkok the 19th to the 21st of March for the Property Portal Watch Conference.

Property Portal Watch Bangkok Conference 2019, Mar 19-21

January 17, 2019

Subscribe to our mailing list to get the famous, free Friday newsletter!

News and analysis to help build better online marketplace businesses, in your inbox, every Friday

Related News

Jpmorgzedited
JP Morgan Global Online Classifieds Report 2024: Key Highlights Include REA, Scout24 and Rightmove

JP Morgan released its Global Online Classifieds report in November 2024, with marketplace giants REA Group and Scout24 SE both...

Read More
News Roundup 13Dec 1
News Roundup: LeBonCoin, Scout24, Dubizzle, Emlakjet, SearchSmartly

As the year draws to its inevitable close and holiday spirit takes over, a slow news cycle means we are...

Read More
All Uk Portals London 2
UK Roundup: Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket All Make Announcements

In the United Kingdom, Rightmove and Zoopla have both announced advertising campaigns while OnTheMarket has released its annual review for...

Read More
Zoopla Header 1 3
"AI is a Game-Changer, and We're Obsessed", says Zoopla COO Rich Hayes

In the final part of Online Marketplaces' exclusive interview with Zoopla CEO Charlie Bryant and COO Rich Hayes, we zoom...

Read More

Editor's Pick