軟銀將放棄價值30億美元的WeWork投資者協(xié)議

軟銀將放棄價值30億美元的WeWork投資者協(xié)議

SoftBank Group is scrapping an agreement to spend $3 billion (Dh11bn) to buy WeWork stock from former chief executive Adam Neumann and other shareholders, despite threats of legal action from some members of the company’s board.

軟銀集團(SoftBank Group)將取消斥資30億美元(合110億迪拉姆),從WeWork前首席執(zhí)行官亞當(dāng)•諾伊曼(Adam Neumann)和其他股東手中收購WeWork股票的協(xié)議，盡管該公司部分董事會成員威脅要采取法律行動。

SoftBank had agreed to buy the shares from Mr Neumann, Benchmark Capital and others as part of a bailout package last year, but notified stockholders in mid-March that conditions for the deal hadn’t been met. The deal’s deadline is 11:59pm New York time April 2.

作為去年救助計劃的一部分，軟銀曾同意從諾伊曼、基準(zhǔn)資本(Benchmark Capital)和其他公司購買這些股票，但在3月中旬通知股東，交易條件尚未滿足。該交易的最后期限是紐約時間4月2日晚上11點59分。

“The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of WeWork has been advised by SoftBank, the controlling shareholder of WeWork, that it will not consummate the tender offer which it agreed to in October of 2019,” the committee, made up of Benchmark’s Bruce Dunlevie and another director, Lew Frankfort, said in a statement. “The Special Committee is surprised and disappointed at this development, and remains committed to reaching a resolution that is in the best interest of WeWork and its minority shareholders, including WeWork’s employees and former employees. The Special Committee will evaluate all of its legal options, including litigation.”

由基準(zhǔn)的布魯斯·鄧列維(Bruce Dunlevie)組成的委員會表示：“ WeWork董事會特別委員會已獲WeWork的控股股東軟銀告知，它將不會完成其于2019年10月同意的要約收購。”另一位董事劉·弗蘭克福特(Lew Frankfort)在一份聲明中說。 “特別委員會對此事感到驚訝和失望，并始終致力于達(dá)成一項符合WeWork及其少數(shù)股東(包括WeWork員工和前員工)的最大利益的決議。特別委員會將評估其所有法律選擇，包括訴訟。”

SoftBank shares rose as much as 2.5 per cent while the broader Japan market fell. The company didn’t respond to requests for comment.

軟銀股價一度上漲了2.5%，而日本股市整體下跌。該公司沒有回復(fù)記者的置評請求。

The share purchase was hammered out in October as part of SoftBank’s rescue of WeWork, after the co-working company’s failed initial public offering left it weeks away from running out of money. In the deal, the Japanese conglomerate would have taken a stake of almost 80 per cent in the company and buy $3bn in shares from investors as well as current and former employees.

去年10月，軟銀敲定了此次購股計劃，這是該公司拯救WeWork計劃的一部分。此前，這家合作企業(yè)的首次公開發(fā)行(ipo)失敗，使其在數(shù)周內(nèi)就將資金耗盡。在這筆交易中，這家日本企業(yè)集團將持有該公司近80%的股份，并從投資者、現(xiàn)任和前任雇員手中購買價值30億美元的股票。

Mr Neumann, ousted in the deal, was set to sell up to $970 million in shares. The generous exit package angered many of his employees, thousands of whom had their jobs eliminated in the following months as WeWork parent We Co. tried to cut its expenses.

在交易中被罷免的諾伊曼先生計劃出售至多9.7億美元的股票。由于WeWork母公司W(wǎng)e Co.試圖削減開支，數(shù)千名員工在接下來的幾個月里被裁掉了工作。

WeWork signs long-term leases with landlords around the world and then rents that space to smaller companies and freelance workers, a business that has been particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus and economic slowdown. In a letter to bondholders, the company warned it didn’t expect to hit its financial targets for 2020.

WeWork與全球各地的房東簽訂了長期租約，然后將其租給較小的公司和自由職業(yè)者，而這一行業(yè)尤其容易受到冠狀病毒和經(jīng)濟放緩的影響。在致債券持有人的信中，該公司警告稱，預(yù)計不會實現(xiàn)2020年的財務(wù)目標(biāo)。

In the past few weeks, the shareholder buyout deal has become increasingly contentious. SoftBank sent a letter to WeWork investors saying it could withdraw from the agreement if certain conditions weren’t met by the deadline. SoftBank cited regulatory concerns and a handful of government investigations into WeWork, including from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department.

過去幾周，股東收購交易的爭議越來越大。軟銀致信WeWork投資者，稱如果在最后期限前不能滿足某些條件，它可能退出協(xié)議。軟銀提到了監(jiān)管方面的擔(dān)憂，以及美國證券交易委員會(Securities and Exchange Commission)和司法部(Justice Department)等政府部門對WeWork的幾項調(diào)查。

“Neither SoftBank nor the company can offer any assurances regarding the scope of these investigations, the nature of any actions that these or other regulatory parties will take, or the timing within which they will be resolved,” the Japanese company said in its letter, arguing it has no obligation to complete the tender offer.

“軟銀和公司都不能提供任何關(guān)于這些調(diào)查的范圍,保證的性質(zhì),這些或其他監(jiān)管各方采取任何行動,或者他們將解決的時機,“日本公司的信中表示,認(rèn)為它沒有義務(wù)完成收購要約。

The two WeWork independent board directors responded, saying they would consider legal action if SoftBank pulled out.

WeWork的兩位獨立董事回應(yīng)稱，如果軟銀退出，他們將考慮采取法律行動。