NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on

Thursday approved WeWork's ( WEWOQ ) Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, allowing

the shared office space provider to eliminate $4 billion in debt

and hand the company's equity over to a group of lenders and

real estate technology company Yardi Systems.

Flexible workspace provider WeWork ( WEWOQ ) expanded at breakneck

speed but racked up steep losses on its over-extended real

estate portfolio before filing for bankruptcy protection in

November 2023.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood approved WeWork's ( WEWOQ )

restructuring at a court hearing in Newark, New Jersey. With

that approval secured, WeWork ( WEWOQ ) will be ready to exit from

bankruptcy with no debt "in a matter of days," WeWork ( WEWOQ ) attorney

Steven Serajeddini said at the hearing.

WeWork ( WEWOQ ) used its bankruptcy to negotiate a significant

reduction in future rent costs from its landlords and cancel

leases at about one-third of its locations, ultimately reducing

its future rent costs by more than $12 billion. WeWork ( WEWOQ ) expects

to operate 337 shared office spaces after its bankruptcy, with

more than 170 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

"Due to the tireless efforts of our team, and the unwavering

loyalty of so many of our members, we have completed our Chapter

11 proceedings with success well beyond our initial

expectations," WeWork ( WEWOQ ) CEO David Tolley said Thursday.

WeWork ( WEWOQ ) rejected an alternate buyout proposal offered by its

co-founder and ex-CEO Adam Neumann. The company said Neumann did

not offer a high enough price to win over WeWork's ( WEWOQ ) lenders, who

preferred to take an equity stake as part of the bankruptcy

deal.

WeWork's ( WEWOQ ) restructuring will cancel existing equity shares,

but top shareholder SoftBank will retain a minority equity stake

on account of loans it provided to WeWork ( WEWOQ ). The company, once

valued at $47 billion, estimates that its post-bankruptcy equity

is worth about $750 million.