The cancellation of the WeWork IPO has been one of the biggest business sagas of the year, and it seems a resolution has finally been reached. It has now emerged that SoftBank, which was the biggest investor in the co-working space startup, has picked up 80% ownership of the company and effectively taken control. The announcement was made by WeWork. In the statement released by WeWork, it has also been revealed that SoftBank is also going to provide the company with $5 billion in financing.
However, that is not all. The Japanese corporate behemoth has also stated that it is trying to speed up the process of providing WeWork with an additional financial commitment worth $1.5 billion. Additionally, SoftBank is also going to make a $3 billion tender offer to the current shareholders in the company. Following this completion of the entire process as well as the tender offer, SoftBank is going to have an 80% stake in the company. Considering the way in which WeWork has unraveled over the past weeks, it is no surprise that the company’s biggest shareholder has decided to step in and take control of the situation.
Despite the troubles that have been faced by WeWork, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SoftBank Masayoshi Son appeared bullish about the future of the company. In a statement, Son said,
SoftBank is a firm believer that the world is undergoing a massive transformation in the way people work. WeWork is at the forefront of this revolution.
He went on to state that the ultimate target and vision of the company remains the same. Hence, SoftBank has decided to raise its stake in the company, infuse capital, and provide operational assistance. That being said, SoftBank shareholders did not seem happy at this development, and ahead of the announcement, its shares had fallen by as much as 3% in Tokyo.