WeWork, the office-sharing company once valued at $47B, files for bankruptcy protection

WeWork, the office-sharing company once valued at $47 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday.

The company, which is controlled by co-founder Adam Neumann, had been struggling to restructure its operations since July, when it pulled its widely anticipated initial public offering. Since then, WeWork had been battling varying levels of criticism about its corporate governance and spending practices.

WeWork has said that it has secured $9.5 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to keep its business operating while it restructures its debt, and will seek to dispose of at least $3 billion in assets.

WeWork will continue to provide its services to customers as it pursues a potential sale of core business units, and will work to preserve its relationships with its thousands of suppliers and partners. The filing could also result in some of the company’s creditors receiving equity in a restructured company.

The bankruptcy filing represents a dramatic fall from grace for WeWork, which was recently valued at $47 billion and was on track to be one of the most valuable startups in the world. The company’s struggles have been a major disappointment to investors and employees who had expected a favorable return on investment.