Crowdcube acquires secondary liquidity platform Semper
Crowdcube has acquired European secondary liquidity platform Semper for an undisclosed amount, as the company aims to grow its presence across Europe and expand its offering.
Semper allows investors to purchase assets from other investors, effectively creating liquidity in the private debt and equity markets.
It was founded by Mathias Pastor and Balthazar de Lavergne in 2021, and is based in Berlin, Germany. They will continue to lead the secondaries business in close collaboration with Crowdcube’s co-chief executives Bill Simmons and Matt Cooper.
To date, Semper has provided approximately €10m (£8.69m) in secondary sales for start-ups from across Europe.
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Simmons said that the Semper acquisition will boost Crowdcube’s plans to create the largest private market investment platform in Europe.
“The potential to create the largest private market investment platform in Europe is vast, and we are just getting started,” he said.
“Our acquisition of Semper positions us favourably to capitalise on all of the interest and momentum in and around the private markets at the moment.”
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Balthazar de Lavergne, co-founder of Semper, said: “We started Semper to help iconic companies attract and retain top talent by making equity more tangible.
“We’ve built the infrastructure and networks across Europe for companies to offer liquidity to their team members and early investors; we’re now excited to expand on those foundations by partnering with Crowdcube.”
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