US office-sharing provider WeWork is to buy Meetup, a website founded 15 years ago to connect people online and help them organise real-world group activities and meetings. Since then, it’s come up against formidable competition from social media, especially Facebook groups. The deal will see the two companies combine their operations in an effort to create a new global company that can compete with giants such as Facebook and Google. WeWork received investment of $4.4bn from Japan's SoftBank, which it has spent on buying specialist companies and property, including the former Lord & Taylor department store in New York, where it's based its new headquarters.
US office-sharing provider WeWork is to buy Meetup, a website founded 15 years ago to connect people online and help them organise real-world group activities and meetings. The deal will see the two companies combine their operations in an effort to create a new global company that can compete with giants such as Facebook and Google. WeWork received investment of $4.4bn from Japan's SoftBank, which it has spent on buying specialist companies and property, including the former Lord & Taylor department store in New York, where it's based its new headquarters.