Why Yardi Bought WeWork
Yardi’s bet on WeWork is all about the future of commercial property management systems.
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Three days ago, WeWork exited bankruptcy with an unlikely financial sponsor: not a major real estate services company, nor an office operator, nor even erstwhile co-founder Adam Neumann’s family office. Rather, WeWork’s new patron is Yardi, a secretive, privately-held company best known for making the leading multifamily property management system (PMS).
While it may seem surprising that a legacy residential technology company would make a $450 million bet on a struggling shared office operator, it might just be a brilliant move given the current shakeup happening in the commercial PMS sector, where Yardi is making major efforts to win market share. While Yardi claims they will run WeWork “at arms’ length”, WeWork’s new ownership—and Yardi’s cash—could enable the companies to double-down on their pre-existing strategic relationship and threaten to upend the commercial services and tech landscape.
Today’s letter will explore:
The state of the commercial property management tech world;
Why Yardi’s move to acquire WeWork is savvy;
Another former co-working operator in Yardi’s crosshairs;
Likely next moves and how it impacts major real estate services players, managed office operators, and the future of office.