Companies are trading pre-IPO stocks as a new asset class

by | Dec 21, 2023 | Stock Market

Stock trading may no longer be limited to companies on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. For financial technology company Forge Global Holdings Inc.
FRGE,
+6.85%,
the universe of private companies that issue stock to employees and institutional investors presents a growing opportunity for its trading platform.

“This is an actual asset class that’s forming,” Forge Global Chief Executive Kelly Rodriques told MarketWatch. “Private, venture-backed companies are staying private longer, and the ecosystem to enable liquidity in pre-IPO companies is maturing.” Employees at startups and other private companies often own between 10% to 15% of the total stock option pool in a given company, while founders own about 50%. Investors hold the rest, typically. When Uber Technologies Inc.
UBER,
+1.35%
went public in May 2019, it reportedly created 1,000 millionaires out of insiders at the ride-hailing company who had stock. Many of those people were senior engineers or mid-level executives. Private stock for employees is generally seen as a way to align the financial interests of workers with their parent company. Nowadays, the universe of private companies that issue stock reaches beyond Silicon Valley software and tech companies to drug companies, biotech companies and financial services. Other company types with private stock include specialists in artificial intelligence, consumer technology, food technology and industrials. Employees can sell th …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnStock trading may no longer be limited to companies on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. For financial technology company Forge Global Holdings Inc.
FRGE,
+6.85%,
the universe of private companies that issue stock to employees and institutional investors presents a growing opportunity for its trading platform.

“This is an actual asset class that’s forming,” Forge Global Chief Executive Kelly Rodriques told MarketWatch. “Private, venture-backed companies are staying private longer, and the ecosystem to enable liquidity in pre-IPO companies is maturing.” Employees at startups and other private companies often own between 10% to 15% of the total stock option pool in a given company, while founders own about 50%. Investors hold the rest, typically. When Uber Technologies Inc.
UBER,
+1.35%
went public in May 2019, it reportedly created 1,000 millionaires out of insiders at the ride-hailing company who had stock. Many of those people were senior engineers or mid-level executives. Private stock for employees is generally seen as a way to align the financial interests of workers with their parent company. Nowadays, the universe of private companies that issue stock reaches beyond Silicon Valley software and tech companies to drug companies, biotech companies and financial services. Other company types with private stock include specialists in artificial intelligence, consumer technology, food technology and industrials. Employees can sell th …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]

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