Softbank in talks to invest $15 billion to $20 billion in WeWork

WeWork Co-founder, Miguel McKelvey
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

• Softbank may make an investment between $15 billion and $20
  billion in WeWork, giving it a majority stake in the co-working
  space company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The discussions are ongoing and a deal is
  not guaranteed.
• SoftBank’s technology-focused Vision Fund already
  made a $4.4 billion investment in WeWork last August, giving it
  a 20% ownership stake in the company. 

Softbank is in discussions to invest $15 billion to $20 billion
in WeWork, giving it a majority stake in the co-working space
company, according to a
Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday.

The discussions are ongoing and a deal is not guaranteed,
according to the report, which cites anonymous sources.

The deal is likely to be financed through SoftBanks’ $92
billion Vision Fund, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and Abu
Dhabi wealth funds as well as SoftBank’s own capital, the Journal
reported. The technology-focused Vision Fund already made a

$4.4 billion investment in WeWork last August, giving it a
20% ownership stake in the company. 

It’s not clear what valuation SoftBank would give WeWork in
the majority-stake deal. The two companies had been in talks for
a smaller investment this June that would have valued WeWork at

nearly $40 billion, according to The Wall Street
Journal. 

Japan-based SoftBank’s largest investment to date in a
venture-backed startup was $7.7 billion for
15% ownership in Uber, according to The Wall Street
Journal. 

Representatives of SoftBank and WeWork did not immediately
return Business Insider’s requests for comment.