Japanese tech investor SoftBank is in talks to invest an additional US$2 billion into U.S. office-sharing company WeWork—a far cry from the US$16-billion investment discussed late 2018. SoftBank has invested around US$6 billion total into the office-sharing startup, with a US$3-billion investment being reported in November 2018. (Financial Times)

Talking point: The deal won’t include the participation of SoftBank’s Vision Fund, which had been a major backer of SoftBank’s existing investment in WeWork, The Financial Times reported. The Vision Fund’s single biggest outside investor—the Saudi government, which holds a 45 per cent stake—is under increasing political scrutiny after allegations it was behind the murder of U.S.-based Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In December 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that key investors in SoftBank’s giant tech fund were questioning its plan to take a majority stake in WeWork with a US$16-billion investment. Last year, WeWork continued its expansion into Canada, opening two new locations in Toronto, telling Bloomberg it was aiming for another 20 by 2020.