SoftBank attempted to delay WeWork’s $3 bn share purchase: Court filing

(Reuters) – SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son told the executive he tasked to turn around WeWork after its botched initial public offering to “use whatever excuse” to delay a $3 billion payout to the office-sharing startup’s shareholders, a court transcript released on Wednesday showed.

The transcript, part of a Delaware court filing, provides new details on the decision by SoftBank to scrap a $3 billion tender offer to repurchase stock from existing shareholders, including founder Adam Neumann and employees.

A WeWork board committee that negotiated the tender offer sued SoftBank in April over that decision, accusing the Japanese company of “buyer’s remorse” amid the coronavirus outbreak.