Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An agreement for a $4.4 billion investment in WeWork Companies from the SoftBank Group (SoftBank) and the SoftBank Vision Fund (Vision Fund) has been announced.
A statement issued by the firm explained that the investment will accelerate WeWork’s ability to connect more people to WeWork’s global community, which currently stands at approximately 150,000 members, as well as further expand WeWork’s physical presence across the globe.
Co-Founder and CEO of WeWork, Mr Adam Neumann, remarked that, “Masayoshi Son is a visionary business leader and we are humbled by this strong endorsement of our mission and purpose.”
He added that, “This support from SoftBank and the Vision Fund will provide even more opportunities for creators as we set out to humanize the way people work and live.”
“WeWork is leveraging the latest technologies and its own proprietary data systems to radically transform the way people work,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “Adam’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. We are thrilled to support WeWork as they expand across markets and geographies and unleash a new wave of productivity around the world.”
An overview of SoftBank and the Vision Fund’s Investment into WeWork reveals $3 billion investment in WeWork’s parent company via a primary investment in new shares and a secondary purchase of existing shares; and $1.4 billion investment in three newly created companies (previously announced), each controlled and managed by local WeWork management teams, which will fund WeWork’s expansion in China (WeWork China), Japan (WeWork Japan) and Southeast Asia and Korea (WeWork Pacific), respectively.
In connection with these transactions, Ronald D. Fisher, SoftBank Group Corp. Director and Vice Chairman, and Mark Schwartz, SoftBank Group Corp. External Director, former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs Group, and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia, will join WeWork’s Board of Directors.
