Convene Nails Down $152M in Latest Funding Round
By Sara G. Marcus July 10, 2018 1:50 pm
reprints
Flexible event and meeting space provider Convene has raised $152 million from investors in a Series D funding round, the company announced.
ArrowMark Partners, Brookfield (BN), CVC2, Durst Organization and Elysium Management continued their investments from previous rounds, with ArrowMark Partners as the leader. New investors include RXR Realty, QuadReal Property Group and tech-focused equity firm Revolution Growth. This round of funding more than doubles the company’s Series C round, bringing its total equity funding to date to $260 million.
“As a landlord partner with Convene in multiple properties, we have seen firsthand how they both fill a market void for corporate clients as well as provide an extraordinary amenity for building owners,” Scott Rechler, the chairman and CEO of RXR, said in a press release. “We believe that Convene will play a key role in responding to the shifts occurring in our industry and are excited to be a partner with them on this journey.”
Founded in 2009, Convene is now valued at more than $500 million, according to Bloomberg, which first reported news of the funding.
“Unlike many players in the flexible office or space-as-a-service category, Convene’s landlord partnership model goes far beyond coworking, and we are proud to partner with the world’s most respected office owners to create inspiring workplace environments for today’s top companies,” said Ryan Simonetti, the CEO and Co-Founder of Convene, in a prepared statement. “We will use our new funding to expand our alliance with landlords and increase the value of traditional commercial office buildings by putting the human experience above all else.”
The flexible workspace platform–a competitor to WeWork—recently acquired Beco, a mobile information sharing platform for workspaces, to supply the company’s landlord partners with data and insights.
As Commercial Observer reported in May, Convene signed a 10-year, 93,096-square-foot lease at Brookfield Property Partners and Blackstone (BX) Group’s One Liberty Plaza to open its largest location. By the end of the year, the company, based at 101 Greenwich Street, will have 23 locations in five U.S. cities with plans to double its footprint by next year. It also plans to expand internationally within the next 18 months.
