Anant Yardi acquires majority stake in WeWork

IIT Delhi alumnus has been a key player in WeWork’s restructuring with over $200 million investment in two years

By Arun Kumar

Billionaire Anant Yardi, an Indian-born software tycoon, has acquired a majority stake in WeWork after a US bankruptcy court approved its bankruptcy plan.

An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, alumnus, Yardi co-founded Yardi Systems, a company specialising in property management software, with his wife in 1984.

Yardi gained control of the bankrupt co-working giant as of May 30 after a federal bankruptcy court decided to transfer control of the beleaguered co-working company to its creditors.

The news, initially reported by Benzinga, has sparked widespread interest, given Yardi’s impressive track record and WeWork’s dramatic history, according to Flex Insights.

The Indian American has been a key player in WeWork’s restructuring. He has invested over $200 million in equity and debt into WeWork over the past two years, according to the Financial Times.

Recently, he committed an additional $337.5 million to counter a bid from former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, who attempted to regain control of the company.

He told Indian business and financial daily Mint he “plans to steer WeWork towards targeting small businesses and incorporating hotel-like technologies like real-time bookings.” Remaining optimistic about the company’s future, he said “If there were doubts, I think we would’ve been much more cautious.”

Yardi, who migrated from India to the United States in 1968, has built a multibillion-dollar fortune over the past four decades through his firm, Yardi Systems.

In 1963, he secured the second spot in the IIT JEE, a prestigious engineering entrance exam in India, and later graduated from IIT Delhi. After moving to the United States, he spent 14 years at the Burroughs Corporation, where he played a pivotal role in developing programming methodologies and overseeing systems development.

Less than two years ago, Yardi invested over $200 million into WeWork through an undisclosed entity. Recently, he pledged an additional $337.5 million to fend off a bid from former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, who aimed to reclaim the company’s leadership.

Founded in 2010, WeWork sought to revolutionise the office market by leasing large properties for extended periods and subletting them to smaller businesses on more flexible, shorter-term arrangements.

This innovative approach allowed WeWork to disrupt the traditional office space industry, experiencing rapid expansion and increased revenue.

The company quickly became the most valuable startup in the US, with a valuation of $47 billion at its peak. Neumann’s ambitious expansion plans and eccentric behaviour, centred around his vision of “elevating the world’s consciousness,” eventually led to his removal from the company.

The failure of WeWork’s IPO in 2019 marked a turning point, as investor concerns about losses and governance lapses came to the forefront.

Despite facing bankruptcy, Neumann demonstrated his resolve to regain control of WeWork by proposing a $600 million bid. He publicly acknowledged his mistakes and was eager to apply the lessons learned to future endeavours.

Nevertheless, WeWork’s valuation plummeted from $47 billion to $10 billion by October 2021 before it went public through a merger.

The subsequent bankruptcy filing was driven by challenges from expensive leases and client cancellations during the pandemic. The surge in remote work further exacerbated these issues, leaving WeWork with $13.3 billion in long-term lease obligations as of June.