Alex Spiro, the brash lawyer who was at billionaire Elon Musk’s side in his takeover of Twitter Inc., is aiding Adam Neumann’s bid to buy back WeWork Inc.
Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, began working as Neumman’s counsel towards the end of 2023, a person familiar with the matter said.
Neumann, a founder of WeWork, and other investors including Dan Loeb’s Third Point are exploring an offer to purchase the co-working space provider out of bankruptcy. Neumann’s real estate startup, Flow, and the other investors are looking to potentially buy the entire company or its assets, according to a Feb. 5 letter authored by Spiro and seen by Bloomberg Law.
Spiro’s involvement in Neumann’s WeWork bid comes more than a year after he helped Musk in the $44 billion takeover of X, formerly known as Twitter, where he played an active role in the sweeping overhaul of the social media platform’s operation. Spiro’s list of high-profile clients also includes Jay-Z and Megan Thee Stallion.
Spiro and a spokeperson for Neumann did not immediately comment. Quinn Emanuel restructuring practice head Susheel Kirpalani and partner Benjamin Finestone are also working with Spiro on the representation.
Spiro’s work with Neumann on a potential transaction suggests there’s an interest from the litigator in the corporate and activist space. He told the New Yorker last July that he’s been approached to lead an activist hedge fund, but he questioned if such a job would interest him as much as trial work.
The letter authored by Spiro claimed the effort by Neumann and others has so far been thwarted by WeWork’s failure to engage with “what is intended to be a value-maximizing transaction” for all stakeholders.
Neumann led WeWork, the office leasing startup that once reached a valuation of $47 billion, until 2019, when he was forced out of the company after its failed effort at an initial public offering.
He is still worth an estimated $1.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His startup, Flow, which will operate multifamily residential properties, has received $350 million in funding from the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
WeWork, represented by Kirkland & Ellis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey in November, listing $19 billion of liabilities and $15 billion of assets.
The company said in a statement to Bloomberg News that it receives expressions of interest from outside parties on a regular basis, which its advisers review “with a view to acting in the best interests of the company.”
Spiro continues to work closely with Musk, including leading the Tesla CEO’s defense in a trial on shareholders’ charge that Musk defrauded them when he once tweeted he’d secured funding to take Tesla private. A federal jury cleared Musk in February 2023.
Separately, Spiro has represented Charlie Javice, the entrepreneur accused of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co. in its $175 million purchase of her college-loan-planning site. A court filing unsealed in that case showed Spiro’s billing rate is $2,025 per hour.
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