Forge Global begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today under the ticker FRGE. The public listing is following the completion of a SPAC deal with Motive Capital Corp.
Financial Technology Partners and FTP Securities (FT Partners) served as financial advisors to Forge Global.
Forge Global is one the largest private securities marketplaces in the US enabling liquidity for shares issues under Reg D. The company focuses on accredited investors with a minimum deal size of $100,000. Forge Global merged with SharesPost in 2020 – a deal that was valued at $160 million at the time. At the time of the merger, the two companies reported aggregate deals of over $6 billion in 10,000+ transactions in 320 different companies with a customer base of over 1 million investors.
Today, the business combination which closed yesterday provides Forge Global with gross cash proceeds of approximately $215.6 million, prior to transaction fees and expenses, which included cash proceeds from Motive Capital Corp’s forward purchase agreement, PIPE investments, and funds released from Motive Capital Corp’s trust account.
In a release, Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge Global, said that completing the SPAC deal and becoming a public company is a huge milestone for his company and for private markets in general:
“As a publicly traded company, we see vast opportunities to expand our business and offerings to ultimately create greater participation in private company liquidity for equity holders and investors.”
Blythe Masters, former CEO of Motive Capital Corp, added:
“Motive is proud to support Forge on this important day, a day that encompasses years of hard work and steadfast commitment to a vision for the future of private markets. We look forward to supporting Forge on its journey beyond this milestone, which is by no means the final destination.”
Last February, Forge Global reported that revenue less transaction-based expenses grew 75% as compared to Pro-forma 2020 revenue less transaction-based expenses, to just over $125 million. Forge stated that it expects total revenue less transaction-based expenses between $149-$153 million for 2022, which represents 21% growth at the midpoint, consistent with prior guidance.
Total trading on Forge Markets surpassed $12 billion in volume in 2021 with $3.2 billion in trading during the year – a 71% increase over pro-forma 2020 trading volume. Forge Markets is a FINRA regulated Broker Dealer and ATS [alternative trading system].
Have a crowdfunding offering you'd like to share? Submit an offering for consideration using our Submit a Tip form and we may share it on our site!