The acquisition of the historic by WeWork (as part of a joint venture with Rhône Capital ) was a landmark real estate deal that signaled a major shift in Manhattan’s commercial landscape. The Deal Overview
At the time, WeWork was one of the world's highest-valued startups (peaking at $47 billion) and was aggressively expanding its physical footprint.
After some financing delays, the sale officially closed in early 2019. Symbolism of the Move wework buys lord and taylor building
The purchase was widely viewed as a symbolic "passing of the torch" from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to the modern, tech-driven coworking economy.
Lord & Taylor, the oldest department store chain in the U.S., was struggling with the rise of e-commerce. The acquisition of the historic by WeWork (as
Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), the parent company of Lord & Taylor, announced it would sell the iconic Fifth Avenue building to WeWork for $850 million .
WeWork intended to use the 676,000-square-foot space as its global headquarters and for additional shared office space. Symbolism of the Move The purchase was widely
The deal quickly became a "white elephant" for WeWork following its failed IPO attempt in 2019 and the ousting of co-founder Adam Neumann.