SoftBank’s WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

WeWork, the SoftBank Group-backed startup whose meteoric rise and fall reshaped the office sector globally, sought U.S. bankruptcy protection on Monday, after its bets on companies using more of its office-sharing space soured.

The move represents an admission by SoftBank, the Japanese technology group that owns about 60% of WeWork and has invested billions of dollars in its turnaround, that the company cannot survive unless it renegotiates its pricey leases in bankruptcy.