Newmark’s bid to acquire Knotel is nearly complete.
The bankrupt flex-office provider was scheduled to be sold on Friday afternoon in an auction, but no other qualified bidders submitted an offer, the Commercial Observer reported. A subsidiary of Newmark, which established a stalking-horse bid in advance of the auction, became the winner, according to the report.
Newmark’s takeover is subject to the approval of the United State Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which will hear the sale on March 18, a spokesperson for the company told the publication.
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Knotel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late January and at the same time announced that it was in the process of being acquired by Newmark.
The flex-office company was valued at $1.6 billion in August 2019. But the company has struggled in the pandemic, facing mounting lawsuits filed by landlords who claimed that the startup stopped paying rent when the health crisis emptied out facilities.
Newmark provided Knotel with about $20 million as debtor-in-possession financing and made a $70 million stalking-horse bid to acquire the company. [CO] — Akiko Matsuda