On October 17, 2018, Ucommune and Fountown signed an agreement stipulating Ucommune’s acquisition of Fountown, which includes Ucommonue’s acquisition of Fountown’s 26 shared office space locations in Beijing and Shanghai. The transaction will strengthen Ucommune’s position as the IP behemoth of China’s shared office space industry. Beijing-based investment firm CEC Capital served as the exclusive financial adviser to Ucommune during the acquisition.

 After completing this acquisition, Ucommune will have 100,000 workstations among its more than 200 shared office locations. The transaction will help Ucommune to continue serving its 100,000 members and nearly 15,000 corporate clients while making Ucommune the largest shared office space brand in Asia. Ucommune strives to innovate for the good of society while using its resources to create shared office space environments that support consensus, harmony, and cooperation. In this way, the Ucommune platform can support collaboration between innovators of different communities, professions, and industries.

 When asked about the acquisition, Mr. Daqing MAO, Founder, and CEO of Ucommune, explained that the shared office space industry is expected to grow steadily as China’s economy for innovation develops and as office space is made to better meet market demands. CEO and Founder of CEC Capital, Mr. Ran WANG, explained that this acquisition, which combines two of the top shared office space providers in China, highlights Ucommune as an industry leader and consolidator, while also marking the beginning of a new stage of development for China’s shared office industry.

 Recently, there has been news that Japan’s Softbank Group is considering taking a majority stake in WeWork. The transaction is expected to cost between USD 15 billion and USD 20 billion.