INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Forge, the marketplace for trading private company shares formerly known as Equidate, announced that it will be acquiring custodial trust
company IRA Services for a purchase price of $55 million.IRA Services is a trust company that provides custodial services for retirement
accounts managed by individuals and mid-to-large sized Institutions
keep them safe from potential external complications such as theft or otherwise.Many custodians, like IRA Services, also provide
administrative services such as collecting the actual dividend payments made to the owner of a stock, and advisory services such as helping
clients understand what they can and should invest in
Since its founding in 2014, Forge has been one of the primary marketplaces where employees and early investors of leading startups can
monetize privately-held shares without having to wait years for an IPO, exit or liquidity event
By acquiring IRA Services, Forge can expand its support offerings for private market securities, and more importantly, can move closer to
becoming a one-stop shop for private market investors who will no longer have to transfer shares acquired with Forge to an external
that it specialized in deals involving alternative and non-traded asset classes
As a result, the company already maintains systems and workflows that are structured to deal with private securities and associated
is becoming increasingly valuable as the exchange market for private company shares, as well as average transaction size and volume,
continues to swell.Pending necessary agency approvals, the combined entity also intends to become both a registered broker-dealer and
rapidly growing private markets
transparent custody services for private market securities can provide millions of new investors with access to a space that is currently
limited to around 400,000 private equity players, early-stage investors and early employees
Having more participating private company investors creates more liquidity, which not only entices other investors to play in the space but
also attracts more private companies to partner with Forge and provide access to their shares
At the same time, innovative startups are continuing to grow larger in size, with more than 250 private companies around the world boasting
valuations of $1 billion or greater
Companies are also opting to stay private for longer due to the growing availability of late-stage capital, the desire to operate
strategically without the scrutiny of the public markets and quarterly performance requirements, or otherwise
As a result, locating sources of secure daily liquidity is becoming a bigger need for more private companies
Forge believes that with its growing set of offerings and the credibility it has earned from working with key regulators and several of the
Forge almost doubled its trading volume in 2018, surpassing just shy of $2 billion worth of transactions, with the company expecting another
billion dollars in transactions by the end of the year
As with any large acquisition, particularly in the financial services sector and particularly in the US, the companies will have to receive
the requisite regulatory approvals to complete the deal in full
from two-to-four months.The trust side of the business will transition its name to Forge Trust once the deal closes to better reflect the
Additionally, IRA Services CEO, Edwin Blue, will retire from the company, though current IRA Services employees will continue to operate
To date, Forge has raised around $88.5 million in venture capital, according to data from Crunchbase, with backing from a number of Silicon
Valley heavy hitters including Peter Thiel, Tim Draper, Scott Bannister, Charlie Cheever, and others
