WeWork融資4.3億美元 將向中國市場擴張
WeWork has raised $430m from Chinese investors in a fundraising that values the office space start-up at $16bn and will help it expand into Asia.
WeWork已向中國投資機構融資4.3億美元，這將幫助該公司向亞洲擴張。目前，這家辦公空間租賃創業企業的估值達到160億美元，高於埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)旗下的SpaceX，以及Pinterest。
Hony Capital and Legend Holdings, both Beijing-based investment groups, led the Series F round. The new financing was “strategic”, said a person close to the deal, in that Hony and Legend will help with its launch in China, which is planned within the next several months.
這是WeWork的第F輪融資，領投者為兩家總部位於北京的投資機構——弘毅投資(Hony Capital)和聯想控股(Legend Holdings)。最新融資具有“戰略意義”，一位知情人士表示，因為弘毅投資和聯想控股將幫助該公司進入中國市場——預計在未來幾個月之內進入。
“Not only does WeWork have one of the largest addressable markets I have ever seen, but the quality of its execution and fit for the Chinese culture is unparalleled,” said John Zhao, chief executive of Hony Capital.
“WeWork不但擁有我們所看到的最大潛在市場之一，而且執行力質量、以及與中國文化的合拍都是無與倫比的，”弘毅投資總裁趙令歡表示。
In an interview in February, Adam Neumann, WeWork’s chief executive, said China and India were priorities for the company’s expansion plans.
在2月接受採訪時，WeWork的執行長亞當•諾伊曼(Adam Neumann)表示，中國和印度是公司擴張計劃的重點目標。
Mr Neumann founded WeWork in New York in 2010, aiming to lure freelancers and displaced workers to its offices in the wake of a harsh recession. The company leases office space, redesigns it, and sublets it to tenants, catching the eye of millennials with trendy work spaces and happy hours that foster a “physical social network”, as Mr Neumann describes it.
2010年，諾伊曼創立了WeWork，希望在一次嚴重衰退之後，把自由職業者和失業者吸引到它的辦公場所來。正如諾伊曼所描述的那樣，WeWork租入辦公空間，對其重新設計之後，再轉租給租戶，以時髦的辦公空間和歡樂時光抓住千禧一代的眼球，從而培育出一個“實體社交網路”。
WeWork says it now has about 50,000 customers spanning 77 co-working spaces in 23 cities, mainly in the US. It has been pushing abroad, with new locations in Canada and London, where it expects to open 14 co-working spaces by the end of this year.
WeWork表示，目前擁有約5萬名客戶，他們分佈在23個城市（主要位於美國）的77處共享辦公空間裡。該公司一直在向國外擴張，在加拿大和倫敦推出了新的共享辦公空間，並希望到今年底可以達到14處。
The six-year-old company has branded itself as part of the sharing economy, capturing more than $1.2bn in the past year and a half from investors including JPMorgan and Fidelity Investments.
這家成立僅6年的公司標榜自己是共享經濟的一部分，在過去一年裡籌資逾12億美元，其中半數資金來自摩根大通(JPMorgan)和富達投資(Fidelity Investments)等機構。
