- Rapidly growing European private market fueling demand from
investors, and interest in liquidity solutions from private growth
companies
- Forge Europe will establish a digital platform for private
growth company shares, extending Forge’s global private market
platform into Europe
- Product offerings will include liquidity programs for
companies, a digital marketplace that brings together buyers and
sellers and exclusive private market data that enable investors to
make informed investment decisions
Forge Global Holdings, Inc. (“Forge,” or the “Company”) (NYSE:
FRGE), a leading private securities marketplace, announced today
its international expansion together with its strategic partner
Deutsche B�rse. Leveraging the technology, track record and
expertise of Forge, and market and regulatory know-how as well as
the network of Deutsche B�rse, Forge Europe will establish a
digital marketplace for European companies and investors that
provides access to Forge’s US liquidity network. Forge Europe will
provide liquidity programs for companies, a marketplace that brings
together buyers and sellers of private growth company shares and
exclusive private market data that enable investors to make
informed investment decisions.
The private market in Europe has demonstrated tremendous growth
in recent years. More than 650 unicorn and pre-unicorn companies
with a combined market cap of more than €625 billion fuel the
growing demand from investors to access the thriving private market
asset class. As private markets mature in Europe, structural
challenges persist, including a lack of liquidity, access for
investors, transparent price discovery and digitized transaction
facilitation. Through its proven trading technology and operating
expertise, Forge successfully transformed the private market
ecosystem in the US by facilitating more than $12 billion in
transaction volume, with more than $600 million in trading volume
coming from European investors and companies.
“The growing interest in private market investing and the
growing need for liquidity by private growth companies transcends
geographic borders,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. “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 B�rse 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.”
Deutsche B�rse, a long-time supporter of and investor in Forge,
has 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. As a
strategic partner to Forge Europe, Deutsche B�rse will further
leverage its growth ecosystem, including its network of private
European growth companies and international investors, as well as
contribute a substantial minority investment in Forge Europe.
“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 B�rse 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,” said Eric Leupold, Managing Director of Deutsche
B�rse’s Cash Market business. “For us at Deutsche B�rse, this is a
promising opportunity to expand into a new asset class with high
potential.”
Forge Europe is targeting its launch in mid-2023, first in
Germany, the UK and France, before expanding to the rest of Europe,
subject to the requisite regulatory approvals. It will offer a
tech-enabled online platform to facilitate secondary transactions
in private growth companies across Europe by bringing together
private company shareholders, such as founders, employee
shareholders and early-stage investors, and interested professional
investors. Forge Europe’s initial product offering includes company
liquidity solutions, which will efficiently structure, manage and
administer secondary transactions for private growth companies, as
well as facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers
directly. European private market participants will be able to
access Forge’s global private market data and analysis. In its
second phase, Forge Europe will offer a digitized software solution
providing access to its transaction marketplace to private market
participants.
With headquarters in Berlin, Forge Europe will seek to hire
local teams in all key markets.
About Forge
Forge is a leading provider of marketplace infrastructure, data
services and technology solutions for private market participants.
By combining world-class trading technology and operating
expertise, Forge Markets enables private company shareholders to
trade private company shares with accredited investors. Forge
Company Solutions, Forge Data and Forge Trust along with Forge
Markets help provide additional transparency, access and solutions
that companies as well as institutional and accredited investors
need to confidently navigate and efficiently transact in the
private markets. Securities-related services are offered through
Forge Securities LLC (“Forge Securities”), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Forge. Forge Securities is a registered Broker Dealer
and Member of FINRA/SIPC, and operator of an alternative trading
system.
About Deutsche B�rse
Deutsche B�rse Group is an international exchange organization
and innovative market infrastructure provider, ensuring
transparent, reliable and liquid financial markets. The business
areas cover the entire financial market process chain. This
includes, among others, the provision of indices, data and
analytical solutions, admission, trading and clearing as well as
settlement and custody of financial instruments. The group has a
long-standing exposure to growth markets through its pre-IPO
efforts, direct venture investments and M&A activities. It has
built up a European ecosystem for growth through enabling capital
raise efforts and connecting growth companies with investors.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” which
generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,”
”could,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,”
“target,” “goal,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,”
“project,” “forecast,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,”
“outlook,” and similar expressions that predict, indicate or relate
to future events or trends or Forge’s future financial or operating
performance, or that are not statements of historical matters.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding Forge’s beliefs regarding the launch of Forge
Europe and future opportunities for Forge to expand its business.
Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other
statements about future events that are based on current
expectations and assumptions and, as a result, while considered
reasonable by Forge and its management, are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
from current expectations. You should carefully consider the risks
and uncertainties described in Forge’s documents filed, or to be
filed, with the SEC, including in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
filed on August 12, 2022. There may be additional risks that Forge
presently does not know of or that it currently believes are
immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Forge’s
expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of
the date of this press release. Forge anticipates that subsequent
events and developments will cause its assessments to change.
However, while Forge may elect to update these forward-looking
statements at some point in the future, Forge specifically
disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as representing Forge’s assessments as of
any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly,
undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking
statements.
For further information please visit forgeglobal.com/europe.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220908005199/en/
Forge Lindsay Riddell press@forgeglobal.com
Deutsche B�rse AG Patrick Kalbhenn +49 (0)69 211 14730
media-relations@deutsche-boerse.com
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