Softbank invests £3.4bn in workspace start-up

JAPANESE telecoms giant Softbank is preparing to make a $4.4bn (£3.4bn) investment in a workspace start-up alongside its multi-billion dollar innovation investment fund.

The pair plan to back the New Yorkbased provider of shared working space ahead of an expansion into major Asian markets.

The group said $3bn will be channelled into new shares in Wework and buying out its existing investors. The remaining $1.4bn will be used to grow its presence in China, Japan, Korea and south-east Asia.

Wework is one of the fastest growing shared workspace providers for entrepreneurs, freelancers and start-ups, with more than 150,000 members across 160 locations in 16 countries.

Wework has been valued at $21bn as of July, making it the fifth highest valued start-up in the world. The company has raised a total of $7.1bn. Softbank’s bet is the latest in a flurry

of investments in promising techbased start-ups. The multinational most notably snapped up Britain’s biggest tech company, ARM Holdings, in a controversial $32bn mega-deal last year. It has since sold 25pc to the $93bn Softbank Vision Fund, whose backers include Apple, Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The fund is now reportedly “very interested” in buying a stake in takeaway technology firm Deliveroo.

It has also invested over $500m in British virtual simulation firm Improbable.