Serviced offices provider IWG has taken a majority stake in The Wing, a US-based female-only members club whose shareholders also include internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and it is unclear how large IWG’s stake is.
The Wing was reportedly valued at approximately $165m last month, when Alphabet unit GV purchased the 23% shareholding previously held by co-working spaces operator WeWork. An earlier report from November 2019, however, suggested The Wing was worth $400m.
Founded in 2016, The Wing runs co-working spaces in the US, Canada and the UK exclusively for female members. All of its spaces have been closed during the covid outbreak.
Lauren Kassan, co-founder of The Wing, said: “Partnering with IWG provides an exciting opportunity to expand our spaces and network designed for women during a time of increasing demand for alternative work environments in the midst of the pandemic and shifting workplace norms.”
The Wing most recently secured $75m in a series C round backed by WeWork and accommodation rental platform Airbnb in 2018. Sequoia Capital led the round, which also included Upfront Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and several private investors.
WeWork led a $32m series B round in late 2017, investing alongside NEA, Girl Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).
BBG Ventures, a female-focused investment arm of telecommunications firm Verizon, participated in an $8m series A round in early 2017 that was led by NEA and also attracted KPCB, Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler.
BBG Ventures had already participated in a $2.4m seed round the previous year alongside assorted angel investors.
