WeWork is emerging from bankruptcy, hoping to emerge reinvigorated by reducing its debt and office footprint.
Founded in 2010 and once hailed as the future of the office, the shared-office-leasing company has piled up losses amid its aggressive global expansion.
The company filed for bankruptcy last year after suffering a sharp drop in demand for office space due to the pandemic.
The company has since used court protection to renegotiate the terms of its leases and has been working with its lenders.
WeWork has said it plans to operate 337 shared office spaces around the world after bankruptcy, roughly half the number it had as of June 2023.
The United States and Canada will continue to be the largest markets with over 170 locations.
The company said the plan approved on Thursday by a New Jersey bankruptcy court would wipe out $4 billion (£3.1 billion) of the company's debt and cut its future rental payment obligations by $12 billion (£9.4 billion), or more than half.
The changes also include a new owner, Yardi Systems, a software supplier to office and residential landlords, which will take a majority stake in the company in exchange for $450 million (£353 million) in funding along with other investors.
Japan's SoftBank Group also continues to back the company.
In approving the plan, Judge John Sherwood said the restructuring would make the company a “viable and successful enterprise.”
WeWork said the restructuring is expected to be completed by mid-June.
Approval of the deal came days after WeWork's former head Adam Neumann acknowledged that his attempt to buy the company would not move forward.
At the time, he said he didn't think WeWork's plans would put the company on a realistic track.
He reportedly offered $500 million for the company, which was valued at nearly $50 billion in a private investment round in 2019.
Neumann left the company after attempts to raise funds through a public stock offering failed, the scale of financial losses became clear and questions were raised about his leadership.
The debacle inspired the Apple TV series “WeCrashed,” starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.
