SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $4 billion in WeWork

SoftBank is being linked with an investment that could value WeWork at more than $20 billion.

CNBC reported that the Japanese telco giant is gearing up to make an initial investment of $2 billion into WeWork, with a view to putting nearly $1 billion more into the firm. The publication said the secondary investment could reach $2 billion, which would put SoftBank’s total input at $4 billion overall.

So far to date, the seven-year-old company has raised $1.4 billion from investors.

A source close to WeWork confirmed that it’s in talks with SoftBank over an investment per the report. However, the person added that the Japanese had also held discussions with a view to participating in its $150 million Series C (2013) and $355 million Series D (2014) rounds, deals that it was ultimately not a part of. This time around a deal seems more probable, but it isn’t final. One issue that is holding things up is that SoftBank’s Vision fund is still seeking commitments from investors, and in particular prospective LPs in the Middle East, our source added.

A $20 billion valuation would represent a slight jump on the $17 billion valuation that WeWork earned when it raised its $430 million Series F round last March. Last year’s capital raise was led by two prominent VC firms in China — Hony Capital and Legend Holdings — and marked WeWork’s first push into China, and Asia. Later that month, the firm announced plans for its first co-working spaces in Shanghai and Hong Kong. WeWork has broadly said it intends to be present in major cities across Asia but it declined to give more specific expectations. Bagging this mega round from SoftBank could be the catalyst it needs to make good on those regional ambitious and extend its strong presence in the West to the East.

Featured Image: kennejima/Flickr UNDER A CC BY 2.0 LICENSE (IMAGE HAS BEEN MODIFIED)