New York-based coworking company WeWork Inc. (NYSE: WE) is in the final stages of restructuring its business after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection more than six months ago. California-based real estate software company Yardi Systems Inc. is poised to become WeWork’s majority owner when the process concludes.On Thursday, WeWork’s Plan of Reorganization was confirmed by a judge with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, where it filed Chapter 11 in November. The approval follows months of restructuring — in particular, WeWork amending lease terms with dozens of landlords across the globe, a process that began nine months ago.The Chapter 11 process has proven tumultuous for WeWork’s properties in the Phoenix metro. WeWork rejected its lease at Block 23 in downtown Phoenix and revealed plans to do the same at 101 North tower, though it had already been locked out of that building by its landlord weeks before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Meanwhile, the company expects to retain its office lease at the Esplanade in Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor, along with a reduced footprint at the Watermark building in Tempe.WeWork’s lease liabilities represented more than two-thirds of the company’s total operating expenses in the second quarter of 2023, David Tolley, WeWork’s CEO, said in a statement last year.In total, the company estimates it will eliminate more than $4 billion of pre-petition debt and emerge out of Chapter 11 debt-free, in addition to an estimated $12 billion reduction of its total future rent expenses.Since it began restructuring its business, WeWork has assumed dozens of leases it intends to keep — often with renegotiated terms, such as reduced rent, lease length or a smaller footprint. It’s also rejected leases at locations it no longer intends to keep.Peter Varellas, vice president of global real estate at WeWork, told The Business Journals in January the most common modifications that were sought by WeWork included reducing the amount of space it’s leasing at a particular location, reducing its rent and entering into revenue-sharing agreements with landlords. Historically, the majority of WeWork’s leases were traditional, fixed-rent leases with a landlord.WeWork will have 172 locations under restructuring dealThe coworking company says it will have 45 million square feet and 600 locations globally at the conclusion of its restructuring. That includes wholly owned locations as well as franchise and joint-venture locations, according to a WeWork spokesperson.The spokesperson said that i …
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