Acuity Partners acts as an intermediary, connecting shareholders seeking liquidity with investors interested in successful late-stage technology companies before they go public or get acquired. Given the increasing trend of venture-backed technology companies reaching high valuations before going public, the need for intermediaries like Acuity has grown. We match buyers and sellers, structure transactions, provide market insights, and facilitate the transfer process in the fragmented and complex pre-IPO market. Our deal flow comes from a network of VC's, tech executives, and other pre-IPO firms. This trend of companies taking longer to go public means that early investors and employees have to wait longer for liquidity. Shareholders of private companies may want to tap into liquidity transactions for various reasons, such as returning capital to limited partners or financing major life events. As the value of their shares increases, these shareholders are "paper-rich" but "cash-poor" due to the absence of a public market to sell into.
A significant amount of the value creation that used to occur after a company went public, now occurs before the IPO. Thus, leaving the average investor out in the cold. A growing segment of high-net-worth investors, family offices, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds, have become aware of this trend and are looking to gain access to shares at reasonable valuations.
Given the fragmented and complex nature of the pre-IPO market, intermediaries, such as Acuity, serve to match buyers and sellers, structure transactions, provide market insights, and assist with the transfer process. We source our own deal flow through a network of VC’s, tech executives, and other top tier pre-IPO firms.
