FILE PHOTO – SoftBank Corp. placard is prepared during a ceremony to mark the company’s debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato
(Reuters) – SoftBank Group Corp will inject another $2 billion in WeWork Cos Inc this year, bringing the Japanese conglomerate’s total investment in the office space provider to more than $10 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The new investment will value WeWork at $47 billion, one of the sources said. SoftBank will separately convert previously purchased warrants into equity at a valuation of $20 billion, the source added.
The new investment, which could be announced as early as Tuesday, will not include any money from Softbank’s Vision Fund, according to the second source.
Saudi Arabia is the biggest investor in The Vision Fund, which was a major backer of SoftBank’s early investments in WeWork and holds stakes in other technology companies, including the Uber ride-hailing service.
The new round will bring total Softbank investments in WeWork to about $10.4 billion.
Softbank is investing the funds following declines in global stock markets, which have hurt the value of technology shares. Softbank Group’s initial public offering of its SoftBank Corp, which was Japan’s biggest-ever IPO, fell 15 percent in its trading debut last month, erasing $9 billion in value.
The Financial Times reported earlier on Monday that SoftBank was in talks to inject an additional $2 billion into WeWork.
Reporting by Angela Moon and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengelaru; Editing by Jim Finkle and Dan Grebler