SoftBank was forced to wire $1.5bn to Goldman Sachs and other lenders days before WeWork filed for bankruptcy, as the cost of one of the worst venture capital investments in history has continued to mount for the Japanese group.
The payment takes the total SoftBank has sunk or committed to lend to WeWork above $16bn since its initial investment in 2017, filings analysed by the Financial Times show.
Under chief executive Masayoshi Son, SoftBank and investors in its Vision Fund bankrolled WeWork’s ascent, completing an extraordinary monetary transfer to landlords as well as to employees and other investors who sold their shares to the Japanese conglomerate.