WeWork raises $4.4bn from Japanese Softbank

Office-sharing company WeWork Cos., has just announced that it’s receiving a massive US$4.4bn investment from the Japanese coporation Softbank 

The telecommunications and internet corporation, as well as it's US$93bn technology-focused Vision Fund, is buying a stake worth $3bn in the US firm. 

The deal includes US$1.4bn earmarked to help WeWork expand throughout China, Japan and Southeast Asia, as well as US$3bn in growth funding into WeWork's parent company.

RELATED STORIES:

• Brain Corp welcomes $114m funding from SoftBank's Vision Fund
• The top three workplaces for millennials: Ultimate Software, SAS and Quicken Loans
• Creston works with Amazon to bring Alexa to businesses

The investment comes months after the telecommunications and internet corporation invested $300mn in the shared-office space giant. The move in March was said at the time to “prelude” further chunks of investment. 

WeWork co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann said: “[SoftBank CEO] Masayoshi Son is a visionary business leader and we are humbled by this strong endorsement of our mission and purpose.

“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’s has 10mn sq ft of space in 16 countries in the word. It doesn't own the properties but rather rents out chunks of office within a larger communal space, favoured by a host of young tech start-ups.

As a result of this investment, SoftBank Group’s Ronald D. Fisher and Mark Schwartz will join the company’s board of directors.