WSJ : Adam Neumann Bids to Buy Back WeWork for More Than $500 Million

Adam Neumann Bids to Buy Back WeWork for More Than $500 Million
The former chief executive of the co-working space provider said last month he was aiming to put together a bid

Adam Neumann, the former chief executive and co-founder of WeWork, recently submitted an offer to buy the bankrupt co-working company for more than $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Neumann would finance the acquisition, the people familiar with the matter said.

Neumann has been trying to regain control of WeWork after he was ousted five years ago by the board. Last month, Neumann’s lawyers sent a letter to WeWork’s advisers saying he was joining with Dan Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund and other investors in exploring a bid for the company.

Third Point isn’t part of Neumann’s bid, the people familiar with the matter said Monday.

A fund spokeswoman previously said the hedge fund hadn’t made a commitment to participate in any transaction and had only preliminary conversations with Flow Global, Neumann’s real-estate company.

WeWork, which had been valued as high as $47 billion before it filed for chapter 11 in November, remains focused on its restructuring effort to emerge from bankruptcy in the second quarter as a “financially strong and profitable company,” a company spokesman said.

“As we’ve said previously, WeWork is an extraordinary company and it’s no surprise we receive expressions of interest from third parties on a regular basis,” the WeWork spokesman said. “Our board and our advisers review those approaches in the ordinary course, to ensure we always act in the best long-term interests of the company.”

WeWork filed for bankruptcy after struggling to stay afloat in the office real-estate market downturn. It has been trying to renegotiate existing leases with landlords to reduce its operating costs, while rejecting ones that aren’t profitable, but the talks have been slow-moving.

WeWork has said it is running low on cash and its lawyers have said they are in negotiations with lenders to finance its continuing restructuring efforts.

Neumann said in his February letter to WeWork that the financial crunch it faces in bankruptcy was due to management’s lack of ability to seek options for financial support. Neumann also said that he wasn’t able to obtain the information he needed to submit a bid, and that he had approached the company as early as December.

WeWork has told parties interested in bidding for the business that it plans to hand control over to its creditors after it restructures itself into a more profitable business, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier.

WSJ : Qantas Investigating Airbus Plane After Engine Issue

Qantas Investigating Airbus Plane After Engine Issue
The airline said the flight experienced an issue with an engine as it approached Perth

SYDNEY—Qantas QAN -0.56%decrease; red down pointing triangle engineers will inspect an Airbus AIR 0.13%increase; green up pointing triangle A330 after pilots shut down one of its engines on a flight between Melbourne and Perth on Monday night.

Local media reported passengers saying there was a loud bang on Qantas Flight 781. The airline, Australia’s largest, said the aircraft landed safely and without further incident in Perth.

According to Qantas, the flight experienced an issue with an engine as it approached Perth. The pilots then followed procedures, manually shut down the engine and requested a priority landing.

Emergency services met the aircraft on arrival, but the aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power and passengers disembarked normally.

“We know this would have been unsettling for customers on board and we thank them for their cooperation and understanding,” Qantas said in a statement.

The aircraft is designed to safely operate with just one engine, Qantas said.

Several midair mishaps have spooked passengers recently, including a Jan. 5 blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX. Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun recently said he would step down.

>>> US After Hours Summary: NARI +6.2% and APPF +4.7% jumping on index change; W

After Hours Summary: NARI +6.2% and APPF +4.7% jumping on index change; WPRT -11.6% down on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: None

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: STOK +81.2% (releases new data on STK-001), NARI +6.2% (to replace CPE in S&P SmallCap 600), APPF +4.7% (to replace NARI in S&P MidCap 400), AMRX +3.1% (FDA approval for Ciprofloxacin and Dexamethasone Otic Suspension), CNM +2% (to acquire EGW Utilities), VSTO +1.4% (confirms unsolicitied $37.50/share interest from MNC Capital), ESPR +1.2% (to present data), LXRX +0.9% (secondary stock offering), MAXN +0.6% (initiates patent infringement lawsuit against CSIQ), KR +0.6% (Colorado court schedules hearing of KR/ACI merger before FTC case; to offer spin-offs, according to Bloomberg SKYW +0.1% (Board Chair retiring; names new Chair)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: WPRT -11.6%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: OTLK -3.3% (secondary stock offering), REXR -3.1% ($840 mln stock offering), TRNO -2.9% (stock offering), MTDR -1.5% (files mixed shelf and stock offering), OCUL -1.3% (secondary stock offering), BAC -0.1% (files $160 bln mixed shelf)

>>> Qiagen releases QIAstat-Dx Analyzer 2.0, a significant enhancement to its QI

Qiagen releases QIAstat-Dx Analyzer 2.0, a significant enhancement to its QIAstat-Dx Analyzer 1.0 (42.81 -1.04)
  • The upgraded diagnostic system, powered by the new QIAstat-Dx Operational Module PRO, introduces the Remote Results Application. The new feature, accessible through the QIAsphere cloud and exclusively available with QIAstat-Dx Analyzer 2.0, allows users to view, comment and confirm diagnostic test results directly from their desktop and mobile devices in any location, facilitating seamless collaboration across the healthcare system.
  • This enables greater flexibility and collaboration between central and regional labs, especially in decentralized testing, reducing diagnostic processing time and ensuring patients receive accurate results more quickly. Alternatively, the QIAstat-Dx Analyzer 2.0 enables in-house visibility of test results over a shared network.

>>> US Close Dow -0.41% S&P 60.31% Nasdaq 60.27% Russell 0.10%

Closing Stock Market Summary
The stock market started the week on a soft note after last week's move higher. A sharp move lower in the late afternoon with no specific catalyst left the S&P 500 near its worst level of the session, down 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite logged a 0.3% decline and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% while the Russell 2000 eked out a 0.1% gain.

The negative bias was driven by some normal consolidation activity, but downside moves were relatively modest. Weakness in some mega cap and semiconductor stocks also contributed to the negative bias today.

Alphabet (GOOG 151.15, -0.62, -0.4%), Meta Platforms (META 503.02, -6.56, -1.3%), and Apple (AAPL 170.85, -1.43, -0.8%) were among the influential laggards after news that the EU commission opened non-compliance investigations against them.

Weakness in the semiconductor space was related to news that China will not allow chips from AMD (AMD 178.63, -1.02, -0.6%) and Intel (INTC 41.83, -0.74, -1.7%) to be used in government computers.

In other corporate news, Dow component Boeing (BA 191.41, +2.56, +1.4%) announced that CEO Dave Calhoun plans to step down as CEO at the end of 2024.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors registered losses ranging from 0.2% (health care) to 0.7% (industrials). The energy sector logged the biggest gain by a wide margin amid rising oil prices ($81.95/bbl, +1.33, +1.7%).

Rising Treasury yields acted as another headwind for stocks today. The 10-yr note yield rose four basis points to 4.25% and the 2-yr note yield rose three basis points to 4.63%. On a related note, today's $66 billion 2-yr note auction was met with soft demand.
  • S&P 500:+9.4% YTD
  • Nasdaq Composite: +9.2% YTD
  • S&P Midcap 400: +7.5% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: +4.3% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +2.3% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:
  • February New Home Sales 662K (consensus 680K); Prior was revised to 664K from 661K
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the overall level of sales was largely unchanged from January while the median selling price decreased for the sixth consecutive month, which is a welcome development for potential buyers.

Looking ahead, Tuesday's economic calendar features:
  • 8:30 ET: February Durable Orders (consensus 1.3%; prior -6.1%), Durable Orders ex-transportation (consensus 0.4%; prior -0.3%)
  • 9:00 ET: January FHFA Housing Price Index (prior 0.1%) and January S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (consensus 6.7%; prior 6.1%)
  • 10:00 ET: March Consumer Credit (consensus 106.7; prior 106.7)

FT : Nigeria accuses Binance of tax evasion as detained executive ‘escapes’ cust

Nigeria accuses Binance of tax evasion as detained executive ‘escapes’ custody
West African country steps up scrutiny of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange

Nigeria has charged Binance and two of its executives with tax evasion, including one that escaped custody, escalating the legal stand-off between the African nation and the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Tax authorities alleged that Binance, which is unregulated in Nigeria, has not filed tax returns nor paid value added or corporation tax, according to a statement by the country’s Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The charges, which were filed on Friday, mark the latest twist in Binance’s protracted dispute with the Nigerian authorities as the government seeks to head off its worst economic crisis in three decades and restore its citizens’ faith in its battered currency.

Cryptocurrency exchange sites have become alternative marketplaces to set an unofficial price for the naira, and Binance is the most used in the country. Nigeria has also held two Binance executives for four weeks following a clampdown on crypto exchanges in February.

FIRS said Binance had helped its Nigeria-based users evade paying taxes. Binance did not respond to a request for comment relating to the accusation of tax evasion.

As the crackdown was stepped up last month, the two senior Binance executives who had flown into the country to discuss the situation were then detained. The men, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a UK citizen, and Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen, had their passports seized.

A spokesperson for the family of Anjarwalla told the Financial Times he had left custody on Saturday and left Nigeria “by lawful means”.

In the early stages of negotiations following the executives’ arrest, the office of Nigeria’s national security adviser asked Binance to resolve outstanding tax liabilities, according to documents seen by the Financial Times.

Nigeria has requested that Binance provide information on its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history for the past six months.

The NSA confirmed on Monday that Anjarwalla had escaped on Friday and said he was using a “smuggled” passport. “Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect,” the office said.

“The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention,” it added.

A source familiar with the matter said Anjarwalla, who is also a Kenyan citizen, may have travelled using his Kenyan passport.

“We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody,” Binance told the FT. “Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue,” they added.

The NSA said it would launch an investigation into Anjarwalla’s escape.

“The federal government of Nigeria, like other governments around the world, has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions perpetrated on the Binance currency exchange platform,” it added.

The two executives were due to remain in detention until April 4, when a court hearing into their future is scheduled to take place. Both men were initially held under a court order that permitted their detention for a period of 14 days that ended on March 12.