WeWork, a leading international co-working space operator, said today it has acquired naked Hub to further consolidate its presence and accelerate its growth in China.
"One thing we know about China is that we don't know," Adam Neumann, co-founder and chief executive officer of U.S.-based WeWork, said in Shanghai today, when asked to comment on the company's latest acquisition. "Because we don't know, we need great partners. We need a local team and we need friends and then we have the opportunity to succeed."
In a statement posted on its official website, naked Hub said that "we are extremely proud to announce that naked Hub is joining forces with WeWork, a global leader in redefining the future of work. China-born naked Hub and WeWork may come from vastly different backgrounds but there is more that binds us than separates us."
No figure was released for the acquisition but earlier media reports said that total consideration for the deal was about U.S.$400 million, with no confirmation coming from either party.
Naked Hub, the co-working arm of naked Group and once a major rival of WeWork in China, now provides 24 workspaces globally, most of which are in Shanghai and Beijing, to about 10,000 members. Another 26 locations are set to come into operation in the near future, it said.
Founded in 2010, WeWork is present in over 200 locations in more than 64 cities and 20 countries. It first tapped the China market in 2016 and WeWork has since expanded to 13 locations in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong by the middle of last month.
