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Coupled with the Forge marketplace, companies now have powerful solutions to access capital and liquidity pre-IPO

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), the leading global private securities marketplace, today announced that it has launched Forge Company Solutions, a comprehensive liquidity solution suite for private, high-growth companies to facilitate custom liquidity programs including executive liquidity, company-sponsored employee liquidity, tender offers and direct listings. Combined with Forge’s ability to access capital on the behalf of companies, Forge is helping companies stay private longer and control their destinies.

The private markets continue to gain momentum with both investors and pre-IPO companies. Fast growing companies are staying private longer with more than 500 unicorn companies around the world amassing nearly $1.6 trillion in cumulative valuation. Staying private helps companies foster innovation but also presents challenges when it comes to raising capital and retaining employees.

“Through Forge’s platform, we help unicorn company executives control their company’s future,” said Kelly Rodriques, Forge CEO. “We have a strong history of helping companies - like Slack, Spotify, Palantir - with company-approved liquidity events. Now we’re making it easier to manage these events so companies can incentivize and support employees and investors while still controlling who lands on their cap tables. They can access diverse demand, market-based pricing and the best execution to make running programs seamless.”

Forge’s proprietary technology gives companies an efficient, discreet and systematic way to raise primary capital and offer liquidity solutions to equity holders. Private companies working with Forge also gain access to a network of 70,000 qualified purchasers, a team of Forge experts and a comprehensive platform for custom solutions to enable growth and innovation. Benefits include:

Reduced administrative burden: Forge provides companies with an efficient, discreet and systematic way to operate liquidity programs 

Control: The tech-enabled solution allows issuers to set custom program parameters including management of participants, offers on-demand reporting tools, and supports cap table integrations for real time synchronization, resulting in data-rich experiences

Flexibility: Forge works with company management teams to understand liquidity needs and creates custom programs to match (i.e. annually, semiannually, etc.) 

The Forge Company Solutions platform is available now and Forge plans to introduce new capabilities to the suite later in the year. For more information visit Forge Company Solutions or email fcs@forgeglobal.com to set up a demo.

Forge Launches Forge Company Solutions To Help Private Companies Run Customized Liquidity Events 

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Press Article: Forge Launches Forge Company Solutions To Help Private Companies Run Customized Liquidity Events

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SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), the leading global private securities marketplace, announced that Vidya Eashwer, former Head of Technology, Edge Systems, at Intercontinental Exchange, has been appointed as the company’s first Head of Data.

“We’re extremely excited to have Vidya on board to lead a critical part of our business. In the private markets, data will determine who wins, and how the industry evolves to best serve companies and investors,” said Forge CEO Kelly Rodriques. “As Forge continues to revolutionize the private markets, Eashwer’s deep knowledge of the space will be essential in ensuring that we are empowering investors and fast-growing companies to make the most informed decisions.”

Eashwer brings extensive expertise in data, technology and finance, having previously held leadership roles at Intercontinental Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. In these positions, Eashwer was responsible for managing international teams, developing strategic solutions and data analysis, and leading global initiatives to meet and exceed critical business goals.

“Forge has an unprecedented depth of private market data and has become a critical resource for the growing number of companies staying private longer and the investors interested in them,” said Vidya Eashwer. “I look forward to joining the team and continuing to innovate our offerings, bringing to market solutions that will benefit all parties involved in the private market economy.”

The addition of this role to the leadership team comes off the back of a momentous year, in which Forge completed a merger with SharesPost and announced it completed more than 3,394 transactions in 2020, reached over $9 billion in transaction volume since inception, and currently has over 370 total issuers across both platforms.

Forge Appoints Head of Data to Expand Accuracy and Transparency for Private Market Companies and Investors

Press Article: Forge Appoints Head of Data to Expand Accuracy and Transparency for Private Market Companies and Investors

As more startups stay private longer, the secondary market will become crowded with private-equity marketplaces that tout their ability to provide liquidity to their customers. However, while there are several players in the secondary-market space, there’s only one company that provides market-leading services that range from providing liquidity to offering transparent custodial services — that company is Forge.

In fact, Forge has taken an unprecedented approach to support the private market and will revolutionize how investors, institutions, companies, and shareholders unlock liquidity. Shortly after announcing its rebrand, and the expansion of its Series B funding to $85 million, the firm is proud to announce that it has acquired IRA Services (pending regulatory approval).

The acquisition of IRA Services will enhance Forge’s ability to serve private-market investors by providing transparent, efficient, and secure custody solutions. As a result of this alliance, Forge will now be able to provide investors with an integrated investing experience who want to hold assets with an independent third-party custodian. 

Forge Adds Safe, Secure, Custody to its Market-leading Capabilities


Today private companies and institutional investors need a partner who offers comprehensive services — including asset management, access to trading and investment opportunities in the private market, and a custody solution. IRA Services was the natural choice to be that custody solution. The company has built a solid reputation over the last 40 years as one of the leading providers of custody and administrative services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset sponsors, and financial institutions.

Additionally, IRA Services’ capabilities seamlessly fit into Forge’s mission, which is to serve the on-going liquidity needs of the private market economy by forging new connections through its technology, data, and a global set of relationships.

Since its inception in 2014, Forge has delivered on that mission and has emerged as the leading liquidity-solution provider for companies and shareholders, and secondary marketplace for institutions and investors that want access to pre-IPO companies. With the acquisition of IRA Services, Forge can better serve the on-going liquidity needs of the private market economy by empowering companies, investors, and institutions with liquidity, and providing safe, secure, transparent custodial services.

“Recognizing that the private markets seed innovation, our mission is to serve the ongoing liquidity needs of the private-market economy,” said Forge CEO Kelly Rodriques. “In joining with IRA Services, Forge will expand its ability to meet the needs of private-market investors by providing an integrated custodial solution that allows them to seamlessly and securely invest in a wide range of innovation companies.”  

Existing IRA Services customers will not see a disruption in service, and IRA Services will continue to be the custodian of their assets.

“Investors across asset classes want the ease, transparency, and security provided by a seamless investing experience from trading through to settlement to custody,” said Pat Hughes, President of IRA Services. “In bringing together Forge and IRA Services, we look to deliver an unparalleled end-to-end investing experience for private markets investors.”

IRA Services customers will also value having efficient access to the private equity market that has become the core of Forge’s existing business.

Forge Acquires IRA Services to Provide Enhanced Custody Services  

Press Article: Forge Acquires IRA Services

Forge Acquires IRA Services to Provide Enhanced Custody Services

We make discovery in the private markets accessible and opportunities endless. With our robust online marketplace platform, qualified investors get direct and free access to data and information on private tech companies. We’re here to accelerate your possibilities.

Sign up and stay informed. We keep qualified investors informed of immediate opportunities. 

Register today and see how we can help you gain access to the information you’ve been looking for.

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We make discovery in the private markets accessible and opportunities endless. With our robust online marketplace platform you get direct and free access to data and information on private tech companies and their securities. We’re here to accelerate your options. If you want to know pricing, company valuations, and what’s been raised, our online marketplace is what you’ve been looking for. Our marketplace gives clarity to both buyers and sellers so that everyone can better understand, engage, and trade private equity with confidence. We take an active role in matching buyers and sellers when accredited individual investors express interest on our platform.

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Deal Expands and Accelerates Forge’s Trading, Custody, Data and Company Solutions to Bring More Liquidity and Transparency to Private Markets

Forge Global and SharesPost, Inc., preeminent private securities marketplaces, announced today they have signed an agreement to merge, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Together, the two companies will create one of the largest global private securities marketplaces, bringing liquidity and transparency at scale to pre-IPO companies and investors. 

Combined the two companies have facilitated thousands of transactions, resulting in more than $6 billion in private market transaction volume, for hundreds of private companies. Together, the companies have a combined customer base of more than 1 million and will strengthen their comprehensive and scalable technology platform, furthering the combined entity’s position as a leading source of historical private market trade data.

“We see the world of rapidly evolving capital solutions that keep pace with the evolutionary magnitude that innovation companies are driving in the global economy,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. “SharesPost has been a trailblazer in the industry; joining forces will greatly benefit our customers, as well as accelerate and expand our capabilities as the operating system for private market transactions. Ultimately, we will deliver more mission critical infrastructure for our customers than any other private market operator in the world.”

With this deal, the combined company will be strongly positioned to serve the unique needs of both Retail and Institutional investors across the globe. The combined platforms will provide buyers and sellers with deeper insight on private company trends, as well as bid, offer, and pricing data that provides transparency to clients and partners to better understand and engage in the private markets.

“We launched SharesPost a decade ago with the mission of creating a far more efficient, more liquid capital market to support entrepreneurs and their companies,” said Greg Brogger, Founder and CEO of SharesPost. “By combining these two companies, we believe we create a leader in the private markets and complete our mission.”

Rodriques will continue as CEO of the combined entity under Forge Global, Inc. SharesPost founder and CEO Greg Brogger will step down from his current role, but will continue to advise the combined company as a member of the Forge Board of Directors. Forge will maintain offices in San Francisco, New York, San Carlos, South Dakota and Hong Kong. SharesPost’s investment advisor and certain other subsidiaries will be excluded from the transaction and will continue to operate independent of the combined companies.

Financial Technology Partners (“FT Partners”) served as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Forge and its Board of Directors in this transaction.

As private market innovators, Forge serves the complex and emerging needs of the private market ecosystem by forging new connections through our technology, data and expertise. Founded in 2014, the firm empowers investors and shareholders by enabling liquidity in the private markets. Forge was founded by Y Combinator alumni and backed by top Silicon Valley investors and large, global institutions including Peter Thiel, Draper Associates, Munich Re, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Börse and TD Ameritrade. 

SharesPost launched the first secondary market for private tech company shares in 2009 and built the leading platform for secondary transactions. SharesPost provides the private growth asset class with a suite of trading solutions and investment solutions to facilitate shareholder liquidity. SharesPost has trading operations in San Francisco and New York City.

SharesPost Financial Corporation, an SEC registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA and SIPC, and SP Investments Management, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser, are wholly owned subsidiaries of SharesPost Inc. Certain affiliates of these entities may act as principals in such transactions. Investing in private company securities is appropriate only for those investors who can tolerate a high degree of risk and do not require a liquid investment.

Forge and SharesPost Join Forces to Create Powerhouse Global Private Securities Marketplace 

Press Article: Forge and SharesPost Join Forces

Forge Global and SharesPost, Inc., preeminent private securities marketplaces, have signed an agreement to merge, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Together, the two companies will create one of the largest global private securities marketplaces, bringing liquidity and transparency at scale to pre-IPO companies and investors. 

Forge Global and SharesPost Merge

The evolution of the private market ecosystem continues to evolve, and the demand for a suite of products, services, and expertise to satisfy the needs of companies, shareholders, investors, and institutions is constant. Forge is on the cutting-edge of that evolution and has made key additions to its senior leadership team and board of directors to support this demand. 

Forge is proud to announce Marco Della Torre has joined the executive team as SVP of Technology and Asif Hiriji has joined Forge’s Board, adding more depth of expertise to the company’s already prestigious leadership. Both bring a wealth of financial technology experience to the team and will play critical roles in the growth and development of the company. 

“It’s an exciting time to welcome Marco and Asiff — they bring incredible perspectives and experience to the Forge team,” said CEO of Forge, Kelly Rodriques. “We’re at a critical point as a company and as the industry continues to transform, we will require leaders like Marco, along with the expertise Asiff brings to expand Forge’s global footprint and to continue to meet the needs of stakeholders.” 

New Executive Offers Extensive Expertise in Tech


As the SVP of Technology, Della Torre will lead product, design and engineering teams across the globe. Della Torre is a serial entrepreneur and technology executive who has built world-class technology teams and launched leading software platforms across the healthcare, sports, and automotive industries.

Prior to joining Forge, he served as CTO of Derive Systems, where he led the creation of their automotive technology platform and its rapid expansion. Della Torre was also the co-founder of Basis Science, a Norwest- and DCM-backed digital health platform startup, before selling the company to Intel Corporation. At Intel, he served in business development and lead technologist positions — launching product-driven partnerships with some of the world’s top brands, from Red Bull to the NBA and more.

“The incredible momentum already evident at this early stage of the private market makes this an extremely exciting time to be joining the team at Forge,” said Della Torre. “I look forward to bringing my experience to help further drive Forge’s leadership in this space.”

Asiff Hirji joins the team as Forge’s newest board member. He is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Coinbase where he ran the company’s day-to-day activities, launching new products and ultimately scaling Coinbase over 40 times in volume and $1 billion in revenue. Hirji is an experienced private equity and venture capital investor and advisor, having held leadership roles at several top firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, TPG Capital, and TDAmeritrade to name a few.

“Forge has established itself as an innovator and a leader in the market,” said Hirji. “I am honored to be joining the Board of Directors and to work with Kelly and the team to further build on the company’s global momentum.”

In their new roles, Della Torre and Hirji will leverage their extensive backgrounds to drive momentum for Forge within the industry. They are poised to take Forge’s versatile customer and product portfolio and expand it even further to meet increased demand from investors, the private markets and the financial services sector.

This announcement builds on the company’s recent momentum. In November, Forge appointed the first chief revenue officer, Jose Cobos to lead growth initiatives across Forge’s expanding product and partner portfolio. 

Forge Expands Leadership With Veteran Finance and Tech Leaders Adding New SVP of Tech and New Board Member

Press Article: Forge Expands Leadership

Forge Expands Leadership

Our commitment to a richer future starts with our own people.

At Forge, we share a common passion and commitment to our mission. We believe in the work we do and pride ourselves on our culture of praise and resiliency. 

We learn and grow from yesterday while celebrating milestones and wins. Together, we build and drive change, not only inside our own walls but beyond them. We support innovation and encourage entrepreneurship. We forge connections and relationships, creating an enriched future for all.

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We are driven by our shared values and put team before self. We are bold. We are accountable. We are humble. Our values support our strengths and form the cultural foundation of how we innovate and work to make the world a better place for all. 

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And, we applaud the practice of our values too

We bring our full selves to work each day.

Whether we’re in the office, remote or on the road, we work collaboratively across teams to drive initiatives to build and improve products. We learn, we grow, we make an impact. Together.

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At Forge, we share a common passion and commitment to our mission. We believe in the work we do and pride ourselves on our culture of praise and resiliency. 

We learn and grow from yesterday while celebrating milestones and wins. Together, we build and drive change, not only inside our own walls but beyond them. We support innovation and encourage entrepreneurship. We forge connections and relationships, creating an enriched future for all.

At Forge, we foster camaraderie. Our culture is built around a spirit of fun, friendship, and community. We care for and respect each other, and embrace diversity by celebrating different perspectives, skills, and experiences.

We’re a team of agile professionals who accelerate private market innovation to meet the emerging needs of the market ecosystem through technology, data, and expertise.

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Perspectives Gateway

Company propelled by growing interest in private markets adds industry veterans from EquityZen and SharesPost to leadership team

Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), today announced it has hit a significant milestone, completing more than $8.8 billion in transaction volume. The company completed more than 1,200 trades in Q3, breaking a single quarter record and doubling the number of transactions from Q3 2019. Forge, after completing its merger with SharesPost in November, recorded 95 percent quarter-over-quarter revenue growth, including data from both brands, and has now facilitated the trading of private shares across more than 360 issuers since its inception.

Forge’s mission is to unlock the private markets for the mutual benefit of investors, equity holders and fast-growing private companies. There are now more than 500 private unicorn companies globally with a total valuation of $1.6 trillion as of December 2020. The number of newly minted unicorns continues to rise, far outpacing the number of exits as companies stay private longer. That delta – along with the improved capabilities and traction of Forge – has led to a surge in companies actively participating in the trading of equity through the private markets as a means to get liquidity for shareholders and employees prior to an exit. An increase in capital flooding into the private market signals a significant increase in investor interest in these high-growth, high-value unicorn companies. Currently there is more than $12 billion in volume listed on the combined platforms.

“The growth that private markets have experienced this year has been explosive and it’s been exciting to ride that wave,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. “Companies and investors are hungry for a marketplace where they can find the best price with the best execution, and we have that. Forge has rich data, an incredible team with deep expertise in facilitating private market transactions and advising innovative founders on raising capital, and the platform that makes accessing and trading in this once-elusive asset class a frictionless experience. We’re looking forward to building on a pivotal year for the market and our company.”

Forge welcomed new leaders to the team from EquityZen and SharesPost, adding to a stellar team that is poised to transform the global markets through data, technology and deep knowledge of the private markets. Forge also expanded its global footprint and now has more than 200 employees across Dubai, San Francisco, Singapore, New York and Hong Kong. Notable new hires include:

Shriram Bhashyam co-founder of EquityZen, joins the team as Senior Vice President of Business Development. Bhashyam left EquityZen early last year and most recently has been an entrepreneur in residence with Citi Ventures.

Nick Grabowski joins Forge as Chief Technology Officer from SharesPost where he served in the same position and led the engineering, DevOps, and product development teams. Prior to SharesPost, Nick was Vice President of Application Architecture and R&D at Charles Schwab & Co, where he led the design of their application modernization efforts.

Jennifer Phillips joins Forge as President & Head of Private Securities from SharePost where she was the President and co-founder of SharesPost Financial Corporation, heading the broker-dealer for six of her eight year tenure. Prior to SharesPost, Jennifer worked for Silver Lake Waterman and New Evolution Ventures, analyzing and working on portfolio investments.

Chris Setaro joins Forge as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Risk from SharesPost where he served as the Global Chief Compliance Officer. Before joining SharesPost, Chris was Chief Compliance Officer for Nasdaq, Inc.’s five U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries whose businesses included equities and options routing, U.S. Treasury securities trading, private company liquidity programs and issuer advisory services.

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Forge Sees Record Quarter with More Than 1,200 Trades, Hits $8.8B in Transaction Volume

Press Article: Forge Sees Record Quarter with More Than 1,200 Trades, Hits $8.8B in Transaction Volume

Forge Global "Forge" hit a significant milestone, completing more than $8.8 billion in transaction volume. The company completed more than 1,200 trades in Q3, breaking a single quarter record and doubling the number of transactions from Q3 2019. Forge, after completing its merger with SharesPost in November, recorded 95 percent quarter-over-quarter revenue growth, including data from both brands, and has now facilitated the trading of private shares across more than 360 issuers since its inception.

Funding reflects the company’s leadership position in providing on-going liquidity to shareholders and investors in private innovation companies around the globe 

Forge, a leading marketplace for pre-IPO securities, formerly called Equidate Inc., today announced a complete rebrand along with an expansion of its Series B funding round. The increased funding round to $85 million reflects the growth potential of the firm as the private markets expand globally and its range of services increases. This announcement follows a period of rapid growth, the hiring of new industry veterans to its C-Suite, and the completion of over $1 billion in transactions. 

Today, over 250 private companies globally have valuations at or above $1 billion – as companies stay private longer than in the past driven by the availability of capital and shifting regulatory frameworks. The on-going growth in the private markets is substantially bolstering the demand for transparent, liquid, and secure access to innovation companies across a range of industries. 

Forge has traditionally focused on its core platform, which enables trading in pre-IPO company shares, and where the firm has facilitated over $1 billion in transaction volume in companies based in the U.S. and abroad. Under its new brand, Forge will expand the range of services it offers to companies, investors, and strategic partners to help expand access to the private markets. 

The latest funding round was led by German reinsurance giant Munich Re. “Munich Re originally partnered with Forge in 2015, leveraging its global insurance expertise to help further enable the rapidly growing market for pre-IPO equity. We have been pleased with the partnership,” said Dr. Peter Roeder, Member of the Board of Management at Munich Re. “We are excited to become a strategic investor in the firm and demonstrate our support of Forge’s enabling secure and transparent access to the private markets.” 

The firm was initially funded by leading technology investors Peter Thiel and Tim Draper. Regarding his investment, Mr. Draper said, “Startups are staying private longer and raising more money than ever. Employees want liquidity for the blood, sweat, and tears they’ve invested in their companies and companies want to give it to them. Meanwhile, investors want access to the growth and value these companies are creating. It’s the perfect storm for Forge to come in and provide investors with access, employees with liquidity, and companies with a way to make this happen. Everybody wins.”

Kelly Rodriques, CEO, Forge said, “Our vision is to enable private companies and their employees to better manage liquidity across multiple funding events and to forge new connections between our clients through our technology, data, and global set of relationships. Our new brand aims to speak more directly to this core value proposition.” 

Today’s announcements build on a string of milestones in the last six months, including the hiring of a veteran CEO and CFO and the launch of an industry-first index tracker and accompanying fund. The Forge Tech30 Capped Index tracks the valuations of Uber, Airbnb, SpaceX, and an additional 27 of the largest U.S. private technology companies while the EQUIAM Private Tech30 Fund, based on the index, provides investors with diversified access to these companies. 

Forge is a premier trading and settlement partner for a wide range of investors in the private markets. Established in 2014 as Equidate Inc., the company empowers investors and shareholders by enabling liquidity in the private markets. Forge was founded by Y Combinator alumni and backed by top investors including Tim Draper, FT Partners, and Munich Re. Forge’s platform allows shareholders and investors in privately held innovation firms to liquidate a portion of their shares and provides private and institutional investors access to top companies like Spotify, Lyft and 23andMe before their IPO. 

Equidate Inc. Rebrands as Forge, Increases Series B Funding Round to $85M, and Completes $1B in Pre-IPO Trading Volume

Press Article: Equidate Inc. Rebrands as Forge

Forge, a leading marketplace for pre-IPO securities, formerly called Equidate Inc., announced a complete rebrand along with an expansion of its Series B funding round. The increased funding round to $85 million reflects the growth potential of the firm as the private markets expand globally and its range of services increases. This announcement follows a period of rapid growth, the hiring of new industry veterans to its C-Suite, and the completion of over $1 billion in transactions. 

Equidate Inc. Rebrands as Forge

Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), has completed its merger with SharesPost, establishing one of the leading global private securities marketplaces serving the liquidity needs of high-growth unicorn companies and their employees and connecting investors to private market investment opportunities. 

Through the merger, advised by FT Partners, Forge expands its ability to provide liquidity and transparency to the private markets at scale and accelerates its position as a leading source of historical private market data for private companies and investors. The combined entity has facilitated thousands of trades, resulting in more than $7.74 billion in private market transaction volume, for hundreds of private companies. Forge now serves a combined customer base of more than 1 million.

“Forge is in an incredible position, as more companies and investors take advantage of the rapidly advancing opportunities in the private markets. Companies are able to stay private longer, enables price discovery and smoothly transition to the public markets, while investors receive access to unicorn stocks and benefit from companies’ pre-IPO growth phases,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. “Through this merger, we are building on our robust technology platform and deep expertise to enhance our marketplace and accelerate support for company liquidity solutions, trust services and data offerings to help companies and investors better understand trends and pricing so they can make decisions that benefit them.”

Forge will expand its current platform, improving the marketplace with more pricing data, providing private companies with a more efficient, and a more discreet and systematic way of offering liquidity and option financing solutions to equity holders, in addition to providing institutional quality custody of non-traded assets to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for taxable and tax-advantaged accounts. Future platform offerings will focus on the company’s ability to provide key insights on private-market trends.

As private market innovators, Forge serves the complex and emerging needs of the private market ecosystem by forging new connections through our technology, data and expertise. Founded in 2014, the firm empowers investors and shareholders by enabling liquidity in the private markets. Forge was founded by Y Combinator alumni and backed by top Silicon Valley investors and large, global institutions including Peter Thiel, FT Partners, Draper Associates, Munich Re, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Börse.

Forge Completes Merger with SharesPost, Showcasing Unprecedented Depth of Private Market Data

Press Article: Forge Completes Merger with SharesPost

Forge Global, Inc. (“Forge”), has completed its merger with SharesPost, establishing one of the leading global private securities marketplaces serving the liquidity needs of high-growth unicorn companies and their employees and connecting investors to private market investment opportunities. Through the merger, advised by FT Partners, Forge expands its ability to provide liquidity and transparency to the private markets at scale and accelerates its position as a leading source of historical private market data for private companies and investors. The combined entity has facilitated thousands of trades, resulting in more than $7.74 billion in private market transaction volume, for hundreds of private companies. Forge now serves a combined customer base of more than 1 million.

Forge Completes Merger with SharesPost

Private Market Update: February 2021

Just one month into 2021, and we see the continuing trend from the latter part of 2020 – the IPO market is hot and getting hotter. Here’s what happened in January and what to know about the private markets as we look ahead. 

Strong pipeline, varying exit strategies 

Roblox, Compass, Coinbase, and UiPath are all still in the exit pipeline, with anticipated exits on the near-term horizon for each. Following Palantir, Spotify and Slack, Coinbase announced it would forego a traditional IPO and proposed a direct listing to reportedly avoid diluting their existing shareholders and handing over cheap stock to new investors. This would be the first direct listing of the year. 

Private companies are also increasingly exploring exit opportunities through reverse mergers via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). This structure has sparked investors interest with reports of well-known names like 23andMe, Bird and WeWork announcing last month either an exploratory or intended SPAC merger. 23andMe is pursuing a public listing through a reverse merger with VG Acquisition Corp.; the transaction would flush 23andMe with  $984 million in cash, which would be available at close, and will value the company near $3.5 billion.

Despite controversial headlines, investor interest in Robinhood soared on the Forge private marketplace even as the company raised emergency funds from its existing investors to build cash reserves as they faced scrutiny over the now-lifted trading restrictions placed on certain stocks. 

In January, the Forge platform saw unmatched traction – up 18% from December 2020 (a record month) – indicating record-high interest in shares of unicorn companies. Last month’s activities also resulted in the highest amount of funding in the US private markets in the past three years, with venture capitalists adding $16.7 billion into the market across 220+ deals. On top of this, the average deal size was $74 million compared to a $48 million average in 2020. 

This flurry of high stakes activity on the private markets is showing no signs of slowing down, especially as we recently saw 15 new private companies achieve unicorn status. 

2021 is shaping up to be an exciting, record-breaking year in the private markets. Stay in the know, and sign up for a monthly private market update from Forge here. 

Perspectives article: Private Market Update: February 2021

Robinhood is Pushing the Tipping Point of Fintech Innovation

The financial services industry has been disrupted by technology from nearly every angle over the past decade – from mobile payment and cash flow transaction apps to cryptocurrencies and robo advising. The disruption du jour we’re all witnessing now: stock trading and investment apps. 

Trading and investing had been relatively inaccessible to a large portion of the population, particularly Millennials and particularly those without investing experience or hoards of cash to burn. But Robinhood, the commission-free investing app, has been dismantling the perception that Millennials and investing don’t mix, with technology that brought unprecedented flexibility and access to the market beyond financial institutions and accredited investors. 

The Reddit-induced GameStop stock surge showed just how powerful Robinhood’s platform is at engaging a new generation of traders. Despite the market chaos that ensued, Robinhood continues to navigate its way through the quasi-crisis, which meanwhile continues to boost the company’s recognition as a powerhouse private brand. Investor interest in Robinhood soared on the Forge private marketplace in January even as the company raised emergency funds from its existing investors to build its cash reserves. In its last two funding rounds alone, the company raised a total of $3.4B, which just stoked the fires of private market investors who posted record-high interest for private shares through the platform. 

With user-friendly technology, and loads of easily accessible information at everyone’s fingertips, Robinhood is just one of a class of startups fueled by an entirely new audience of investors who don’t seek the help of traditional institutions for their investment decisions and don’t generally play by the old rules governing investing. This democratization of the investing paradigm, as Robinhood and the GameStop saga has shown, will only lead to more innovation, as entrepreneurs figure out how to better serve this new, powerful investment class. 


And that will have implications on the fintech sector as a whole. Fintech innovation piqued this year, due in part to behavioral changes stemming from the Coronavirus pandemic. Robinhood leverages behavioral psychology and gamification, for example – it’s fun and easy to use, making its app particularly appealing for those who, in non-pandemic times, might otherwise spend time, money and energy engaging in activities like sports and entertainment betting. A better UX has sparked curiosity in the new league of investors, too. TD Ameritrade reported last fall that visits to its website giving instructions on trading stocks have nearly quadrupled since January 2020.

Advancements in fintech will only continue to increase access and provide greater options for stock trading and investing, among other financial decisions, for the new generation of traders and the savvy professionals.  

Speaking of the professionals, per the interest in Robinhood on the Forge platform, as bids for Robinhood shares continue to mount, that interest is split between accredited individual investors and institutional investors.  

While GameStop squeezed some hedge funds that had shorted the stock, it’s also possible that hedge funds see a way to benefit from the very same company that caused their losses – by working to buy up available Robinhood equity in the private markets. This “even if we lose, we’ll win” strategy is another potential ripple in the way that the new fintech disruptors will ultimately influence the traditional investment models. 

Robinhood shook the market and changed the way investors think about and approach buying. As more companies follow Robinhood’s lead, we can expect more interest in fintech disruptors on the private markets. Learn how to become an accredited investor on the Forge marketplace here. 

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Not All Private Company Tenders are Alike

Fast-growing companies are staying private longer, which helps foster innovation but can also present employee retention challenges. In an effort to keep talent, private companies looking to reward valued employees often initiate liquidity events, including tender offers. 

A private company tender offer is a company-sponsored liquidity event that allows employees and other key investors to ‘tender’ or sell shares to an offeror(s) while a company is still private. This allows employees and early investors to exchange a portion of their shares for cash, though they have to agree to the pre-negotiated price that the offeror(s) fixes for those shares.  These events often follow a company’s VC fundraising round.

When a CFO, for example, puts together a traditional private company tender offer, she might first assess how much equity employees and investors will be able to sell. A typical tender may allow equity holders to sell up to 5 or 10% of their shares, for instance. Then, the CFO would identify an investor they’d like to work with, and negotiate and settle on a set price with that investor, which is typically discounted 20 to 30 percent. Employees – or any eligible seller (non-employee founders, early stage investors, employees, etc.) – then transfer a subset of their shares to the investor in exchange for cash valued at the pre-negotiated price. 

Due to lack of technology, traditional private company tenders have limited a company's capabilities to offer the optimum solution for their employees, the companies and the investing community. For organizations that want their employees and investors to receive the best price possible, it may be time to consider a new format.

Because of advancements in technology platforms and the evolution of the private market, more options for running customized liquidity programs are now available, including those that enable an auction mechanism. Instead of the CFO selecting one investor to participate, they would take a portion of the common stock from their employees, put it on a modern marketplace for investors to bid, and select the investors that bid the highest amounts. 

This methodology allows a broader pool of people to benefit – employees cash out at a higher price, multiple investors can participate in the offer, and companies gain insights into market-based pricing to ensure their workforce is receiving the best offer. 

Executives interested in alternatives for customized liquidity programs also don’t have to forfeit control over their cap table. When leveraging the auction mechanism on a modern marketplace, they’re able to set parameters and criteria around who can invest in the offer, providing control from start to finish. 

Custom liquidity programs provide all the benefits of a traditional tender and can result in better pricing. Employees will feel supported, investors are incentivized to participate, and companies maintain control over their cap tables. 

Visit Forge Company Solutions to learn more about our integrated platform for private, high-growth customized company liquidity programs, and  – contact us for a demo today.  

Not All Private Company Tenders are Alike 

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Perspectives article: Not All Private Company Tenders are Alike

SPACs are the New Podcast: What to Consider and How to Participate In the SPAC Era

For those with a pulse on the private and public markets, it’s nearly impossible to scan a newsfeed without seeing yet another SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) has formed. Often with a well-known or celebrity sponsor, SPACs are to the financial markets what podcasts are to the media – while everyone seems to have one, only a small percentage will be worth listening to. 

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