Forge Global has targeted Europe as the number of unicorn companies located on the continent and in the UK grows. The company says its platform has seen the proportion of private market transactions with international buyers or sellers increase over time to 26% in 2024, up from about 13% in 2018.

Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge Global, says: “With over $14 billion traded on our platform in more than 500 private companies including Klarna and Spotify (now public), as well as our Forge Pro trading management solution and the Forge Private Market Index, Forge Europe is integrated into one of the largest global marketplaces for private company share trading in the world. We are confident that we have the right team, at the right time, to accelerate access to this asset class in Europe.”

With operational hubs in Berlin, Germany, integrated within the Deutsche Börse network, as well as in London, UK, Forge Europe has now closed its first trades in cooperation with local partners and is planning to further expand across Europe into DACH and France.

Eric Leupold, head of cash markets at Deutsche Börse says: “With the maturing European tech ecosystem and the continued growth of investment in private companies over the past decade it has become clear to us that there is a need for an efficient, data driven and technology-enabled marketplace for the trading of private company shares in Europe.”

“With Forge’s strong track record in the US and Deutsche Börse’s extensive experience in operating trusted and scalable market infrastructure, I am confident that Forge Europe will be the pioneer in addressing the late-stage and pre-IPO liquidity needs of private companies and investors in Europe, thereby strengthening the tech ecosystem.”