US-headquartered workspace provider WeWork has added $260m from investors including hospitality chain Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels on to a round that now totals $690m, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
WeWork closed the first $430m in funding in March this year, with conglomerate Legend Holdings co-leading the tranche with its private equity arm, Hony Capital.
In addition to Jin Jiang, the backers that provided the additional funding are made up of new and existing investors including an undisclosed US-based family office. The series F round values WeWork at $16.9bn.
WeWork provides flexible office and co-working space for individual workers or teams that can number up to the three figures. The spaces offer wifi and Ethernet, office furniture, printers, private phone booths and free refreshments.
The company charges a monthly fee to users, and currently operates 121 separate workspaces across 38 cities in North America, Europe, Australia, Israel, Korea and China.
WeWork had planned to branch out into residential spaces but has so far opened only two WeLive residences, significantly less than the 14 it had intended for the end of 2016.
Although its Chinese spaces are limited to Hong Kong and a Shanghai location that opened in July 2016, the participation of Legend and Jin Jiang in the round indicate WeWork’s future plans involve expansion in Asia, and particularly in China.
WeWork has now raised almost $1.7bn since it was founded in 2010, including $434m in a June 2015 round closed at a $10bn valuation, double that at which WeWork raised $355m in December 2014.
Fidelity Management and Research, JP Morgan Investment Management, T. Rowe Price, Goldman Sachs, Benchmark and clients of Wellington Management Company backed the 2015 round, but WeWork has not disclosed details of its early investors.
– Photo courtesy of WeWork