Deals
SoftBank Plans Reduced $2 Billion Investment in WeWork
- Vision Fund was said to have discussed investing $16 billion
- The new investment does not represent a controlling stake
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SoftBank Group Corp. has decided against taking a controlling stake in real estate company WeWork Cos. and is instead planning to make a smaller $2 billion investment, according to people familiar with the matter.
SoftBank, which has already invested more than $8 billion in WeWork, had discussed taking a controlling position in the co-working startup, potentially spending $16 billion to buy a larger position in the company, said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. Recent declines in tech stocks -- particularly SoftBank’s shares, which are down about 20 percent in the last month -- played a role in the decision to reduce the deal’s scope, one of the people said.