NASDAQ buys SecondMarket to extend further into pre-IPO stock trading
NASDAQ has acquired SecondMarket, a platform for trading in non-listed private companies which helps them prepare for an IPO. Last year the US exchange launched NASDAQ Private Market to help private companies raise capital and manage secondary transaction. In July, NASDAQ announced it was using blockchain technology to drive a platform in development to issue and trade shares in private companies, which was scheduled for launch in 4Q 2015. This latest acquistion will enable NASDAQ to expand further into the sector, which is begining to evolve, as companies that extend their pre-IPO lives are under increasing pressure to provide liquidity to employees and early investors. As reported in our briefings earlier this month, InvestDen and CircleUp have also introduced secondary markets for private shares, and Numis is working with Crowdcube to develop another.

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NASDAQ Inc, the company that owns and operates the NASDAQ stock market and eight stock exchanges across Europe, has acquired SecondMarket, a marketplace for buying and selling private company stock.

Any such move by NASDAQ is notable, given that it is one of the world’s best-known brands for publicly traded stock. But in March last year, it launched a pre-IPO arm called NASDAQ Private Market to help private companies raise capital and manage secondary transactions. By acquiring SecondMarket, NASDAQ is extending its reach into the private realm.

SecondMarket, which was founded out of New York in 2004, will join NASDAQ’s Private Market arm, and CEO Bill Siegel will now lead the NASDAQ Private Market division.

“It has been a long and impressive journey for the SecondMarket private company team to reach this milestone,” said Siegel. “We are confident that our combined expertise and the existing infrastructure at NASDAQ Private Market – including their ExactEquity offering and innovative blockchain efforts – will provide a first-rate experience for all of our clients and give us the opportunity to continue being an industry leader in our space.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.