Equidate, a US-based trading marketplace for private companies, rebranded to Forge Global yesterday while adding $35m to a series B round led by reinsurance firm Munich Re now sized at $85m.
The $50m first tranche was closed in July 2018 and co-led by investment bank Financial Technology Partners, private equity boutique Panorama Point Partners and investment fund Operative Capital with backing from private investors Peter Thiel, Tim Draper and Scott Banister.
Founded in 2014, Forge Global has developed an electronic trading platform that enables shareholders in private companies to sell a portion of their stock to individuals and institutional investors instead of having to wait for an exit through an acquisition or flotation.
The company claims to have facilitated more than $1bn in transactions and intends to now expand its range of services. It had previously received undisclosed amounts in seed and series A funding from an investor base including Thiel, Draper and Banister.
Peter Roeder, a member of Munich Re’s board of management, said: “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.
“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.”
Munich Re had already been supplying its insurance knowledge to assist Forge through a partnership agreement the companies signed in 2015.