WeWork Signs Landmark Deal With IBM For Full Manhattan Building
In the first deal of its kind, WeWork has reportedly struck an arrangement with computer giant IBM to manage a full office building in Manhattan.
IBM would take up 70K SF of the 10-story, 87K SF 88 University Place, and WeWork would manage the entire space for the lone tenant, rather that IBM sharing the co-working giant's classic amenities — free coffee and beer, activities, office managers — with other companies, The Real Deal reports.
The deal is a landmark for WeWork's growth strategy, which heavily involves catering to large companies like IBM. It recently received a $3B investment from SoftBank valuing it at $20B.
In February, WeWork restructured the company, bringing on executives to run three distinct divisions, including a new "enterprise" vertical under which deals like IBM would fall. WeWork signed Amazon to take two-thirds of a location in Boston's Back Bay a week later.