Private securities marketplace Forge Global Holdings, Inc. revealed on Thursday its international expansion together with its strategic partner Deutsche Börse.
Leveraging Forge’s technology and expertise and Deutsche Börse’s network and market and regulatory know-how, Forge Europe will establish a digital marketplace for European companies and investors that provides access to Forge’s US liquidity network.
In recent years, the private market in Europe has been growing with over 650 unicorn and pre-unicorn companies with a combined market cap of more than €625 billion driving the demand from investors to access the private market asset class.
As the European private markets mature, there are structural challenges like lack of liquidity, access for investors, transparent price discovery and digitized transaction facilitation. Forge tackles that in the US through its trading technology and operating expertise by facilitating over $12 billion in transaction volume with over $600 million in trading volume coming from European investors and companies.
Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, commented:
The growing interest in private market investing and the growing need for liquidity by private growth companies transcends geographic borders. As Europe’s population of high-growth technology companies continues to grow rapidly, creating an efficient and trusted private marketplace that can meet the needs of those companies and investors across a complex regulatory landscape is a challenge Forge is uniquely positioned to solve. With our innovative technology platform, credible experience and private market expertise – and with a strategic partner in Deutsche Börse that understands local market requirements and how to run scaled and regulated market infrastructure – we believe Forge Europe can deliver to European participants the benefits of a liquid, transparent and efficient global private market.
Long-time investor in Forge, Deutsche Börse, brings a strong European regulatory and market expertise and relationships with issuers, buy-side investors and other financial institutions that expand Forge’s ecosystem reach in Europe. The strategic partnership will further utilise Deutsche Börse’s growth ecosystem, including its network of private European growth companies and international investors, as well as contribute a substantial minority investment in Forge Europe.
Eric Leupold, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse’s Cash Market business, said:
Investing in private markets has grown significantly in Europe over the last decade, with record investments in growth companies last year. Forge impresses with its renowned private market expertise. Deutsche Börse stands out for its ability to operate a scalable and reliable market infrastructure and has established an extensive capital markets ecosystem. Together, we will be a first mover in Europe to build up a trusted, efficient and technology-driven global private market platform. This is how we will address the liquidity needs of growth companies and venture investors. For us at Deutsche Börse, this is a promising opportunity to expand into a new asset class with high potential.
According to the official announcement, Forge Europe is set to launch in mid-2023, first in Germany, the UK and France, expanding to the rest of Europe after that.
