WeWork wants to strip away power held by Adam and Rebekah Neumann, the husband and wife cofounders, to get its IPO back on track
- WeWork is mulling whether to reduce CEO Adam Neumann's power to make its planned public offering more attractive to potential investors, The Financial Times reported.
- The company and its advisors are considering whether to reduce Neumann's voting power from the 20 votes per share that he has now.
- It's also debating whether to remove his wife, Rebekah Neumann, from her role in naming a successor to her husband if he dies or becomes debilitated.
- The debate comes as WeWork has struggled to find investors and is reportedly considering slashing its valuation by more than two-thirds.
- Read all of Business Insider's WeWork coverage here.
WeWork is considering curtailing the power of CEO Adam Neumann and his wife, Rebekah Neumann, in an effort to get its initial public offering back on track, The Financial Times reported Thursday.
Neumann dominates the company, thanks in part to holding special stock that gives him 20 votes per share. The company's investors, advisors, and executives are deliberating whether to reduce his voting power, among other possible corporate governance reforms, according to The Financial Times.
Under WeWork's corporate bylaws, Rebekah Neumann is one of three people who would decide on her husband's successor if he should die or become incapacitated within 10 years of the company's IPO. One of the other changes the real estate giant is debating is whether to remove her from that role, The Financial Times reported.
Company representatives did not immediately respond to an email from Business Insider seeking comment.
WeWork has been struggling to line up potential investors for its planned public offering. Neumann's control over the company and a series of transactions involving him or his relatives have raised eyebrows. Investors and analysts have also raised concerns about the company valuation and financial stability.
In its last private funding round in January, WeWork was valued at $47 billion. But it's now considering going public with a market capitalization of as little as $15 billion, according to The Financial Times.
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- Read more about WeWork's planned IPO:
- WeWork says it has a $3 trillion market opportunity and has signed up only 0.2% of its potential customers. Here's why real-estate experts say those numbers don't add up.
- WeWork gave out 58 stock awards worth at least $1 million each in February, and 94% of them went to men, according to a lawsuit
- Why WeWork's $47 billion private valuation could be a key stumbling block for its IPO - and might even derail it completely
- 2 big numbers - $4 billion and $47 billion - sum up WeWork's business model and the risky reason it could collapse in a recession