SoftBank Group, Vision Fund invest $4.4b in WeWork

The funding comprises a $3 billion investment in WeWork’s parent company via a purchase of primary and secondary shares, along with $1.4 billion in commitments to WeWork’s China, Japan, and Southeast Asia and Korea units. The company will use the capital to grow its physical presence around the world, particularly in Asia.

SoftBank’s investment represents a further escalation of its partnership with WeWork. The firm announced a joint venture with the company in Japan last month, followed soon after by a $500 million investment alongside Hony Capital to help create WeWork’s Chinese entity.

WeWork provides shared office space for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and large corporations, with more than 150,000 members worldwide. The company was founded in New York City in 2010 and currently has over 160 locations across 50 cities in 16 countries.

“[WeWork founder Adam Neumann]’s unique vision and talented team have created a sharing platform that offers maximum flexibility and opportunity to creators of all types, from young entrepreneurs to large multinational companies,” said Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's chairman and CEO, in a statement. “We are thrilled to support WeWork as they expand across markets and geographies and unleash a new wave of productivity around the world.”

WeWork launched in mainland China and Hong Kong last year, hoping to leverage demand by Asian companies - from multinationals to start-ups - for more flexible real estate arrangements. Earlier this month it acquired Singapore-based Spacemob to serve as the seed for WeWork’s Southeast Asia and Korea division.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• North America
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• Japan
• USA
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