WeWork takeover by SoftBank includes $1.7 billion payout for former CEO: report

WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann will reportedly get about $1.7 billion under a deal in which SoftBank will take control of the troubled company.

Under the deal, the potential valuation of WeWork would drop to about $8 billion, a stunning fall from its peak of $47 billion, and an additional embarrasment for a company that was supposed to go public not long ago. Under that new expected valuation, SoftBank would have put more money into WeWork to date than the company is worth.

News of the deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

WeWork and SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for more …