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Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp is close to finalizing an investment in U.S. office-sharing startup WeWork in a deal expected to be worth over $3 billion, CNBC reported on Sunday.
The investment under discussion is a $2 billion primary tranche of funding, followed by a secondary round worth more than $1 billion, CNBC reported, citing a source.
SoftBank may increase the size of the secondary investment to nearly $2 billion for a total investment of nearly $4 billion, CNBC added.
One person familiar with the matter told Business Insider this type of investment would likely be made through the SoftBank Vision Fund, a $100 billion tech investment fund backed by the Saudi government, which has yet to close.
The Wall Street Journal in January reported that SoftBank was considering investing “more than $1 billion” in WeWork.
SoftBank earlier this month announced it was buying the asset-management firm Fortress for $3.3 billion. Three days later, reports emerged that the company was looking to merge Sprint, which it owns, with T-Mobile US — an idea it had also explored in 2014, only to back down after telecom regulators made it clear they would block any acquisition of the fourth-largest US carrier.
The Japanese firm made headlines in December when CEO Masayoshi Son met with President Donald Trump, who announced Son’s company would invest $50 billion in the US and bring 50,000 jobs to the country. The investment is actually from the SoftBank Vision Fund and was announced in October.
Last summer, SoftBank bought the British semiconductor and software company ARM Holdings for $32 billion.
SEE ALSO:The hyper-acquisitive telecom SoftBank is buying Fortress Investment Group for $3.3 billion
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