Investment platform PrimaryBid has announced the successful closing of its Series C funding round, in which it raised $190 million to continue its growth and expansion. The investment was led by Eight Roads Ventures and included participation from existing investors such as Draper Esprit, Novator Partners, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and WhiteStar Capital.
Founded in 2018, PrimaryBid is a technology-driven platform that seeks to revolutionize access to capital markets for businesses seeking growth capital. Large private companies can issue shares to their customers on public grid days through the platform. People can invest whenever they want using their app on any device within the agreed timeframe.
PrimaryBid has now raised more than $205 million since its launch three years ago and plans to use the Series C funds “to further enhance its leading primary markets offering in support of some of the world’s most recognizable companies” To date, Primary Bid has helped over 50 issuers raise over £6 billion worth of capital streams. These include global firms such as Unilever PLC (ULVR.L), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and InfraStrata Plc (INFA) gain access to capital markets through retail investors’ networks who join together under the company’s technology-driven platform.
PrimaryBid is now looking to cement its position as a leading provider of primary capital market solutions with these latest funds amassed from this round for companies worldwide who are looking for fast yet secure investments online securely on any device anywhere anytime round the clock 24/7 allowing them access to direct point of sale for deals so that even retail investors have an opportunity to be part of the process in a safe secure trackable way.
Overview of PrimaryBid
PrimaryBid is an award-winning global investment platform that gives retail investors access to investment opportunities in private and public companies. PrimaryBid provides a digitalised end-to-end platform for primary issuances, allowing issuers to reach a wider base of retail investors in their jurisdiction and worldwide.
Founded in 2017, with offices in London, New York, and Dublin, PrimaryBid is one of the leading online capital markets offering capabilities from pre-issuance workflows through listing underwriters and advisors – who provide bespoke solutions for each issuer. As a result, the company enables regulated firms who need capital raising during any public or private round and issuers of all kinds who need access to an efficient primary capital pool after investor relations activities via app and web solutions.
The fresh injection of $190 million that the company has secured through its Series C funding round will be used primarily to expand the infrastructure within its existing network as it seeks to become the leading global real-time investing platform. This funding comes from a successful Series B raise of $20 million early 2020 which has helped accelerate the widening presence and adoption rates among institutional investors.
PrimaryBid’s founders believe that this funding will enable the company’s growth into new markets across Asia Pacific, Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region as it opens up further opportunities for companies and investors worldwide. It also presents a great opportunity for individual investors globally who have been seeking better avenues for accessing capital from quality names worldwide via their mobile or web devices.
Investment Platform PrimaryBid Lands $190M in Series C
PrimaryBid, an investment platform that connects retail investors with companies listing shares on the London Stock Exchange, has announced the completion of a £140 million ($190 million) Series C funding round.
The round was led by venture capital firm Index Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Octopus Ventures, Accel, Draper Esprit and Hambro Perks. This brings the total capital raised by PrimaryBid to £175 million ($235 million), cementing the company’s position as one of the leading investment platforms in the UK.
Investors
Investors in the Series C funding include Temasek, Macquarie Capital and Aviva Ventures, alongside returning investors including Old Mutual Global Investors, Tapestry Venture Partners and other existing shareholders.
The latest injection of capital will bolster PrimaryBid’s goal of creating a retail-friendly public markets platform accessible to all retail investors, providing them with liquidity when major shareholders divest and a chance to access primary offerings on the same terms as institutional investors. This follows the company hosting over 20 retail-focused offerings in the last 12 months alone.
The fundraising has been viewed as a major vote of confidence for PrimaryBid – particularly from Aviva Ventures, which looked closely at the roster of eleven existing investors before participating. PrimaryBid has raised its total funding to $295 million since it was founded in 2018 – recent fundraisers also included a $105 million Series B round led by Goldman Sachs in March of 2021.
Use of Funds
PrimaryBid, a London-based investment platform, has closed its Series C funding round, raising $190 million. The firm intends to use the funds to support its ongoing growth and strategic expansion.
The round was co-led by Fidelity International’s Strategic Investments arm and existing investor, Accel. Other participating investors included Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking, OMERS Ventures and Park Square Capital. This raised the total funding of PrimaryBid to $292 million since its launch in 2016.
PrimaryBid’s platform enables institutional investors such as pension funds and asset managers to access large scale public share offerings. It provides access to pre-IPO opportunities, retail allocation in follow-on offerings via secondary markets and primary issuance of public equities through an institutional interface.
The capital will be primarily utilized for product development, working capital investments such as marketing campaigns and increasing the size of their UK based team. This ongoing investment will ensure PrimaryBid’s continued growth, focusing on scaling up its presence in continental Europe and Latin America shortly.
Impact of the Funding
PrimaryBid, an equity crowdfunding platform, recently landed a $190 million Series C funding round. This brings the company’s total funding to $230 million.
With access to a larger pool of funds, PrimaryBid can continue to make investments and further their growth in the industry. Let’s take a closer look at how this investment will impact PrimaryBid and their operations.
Expansion of Services
PrimaryBid, an investment platform connecting retail and institutional investors with companies going through IPOs and other capital raising events, has secured $190 million in Series C funding. The company plans to use this funding to expand its services globally and enter new markets.
The fresh capital injection will also strengthen existing services and add more financial products designed for retail investors. This will enable PrimaryBid’s customers to access a wider range of corporate finance products such as primary offerings, secondary placings, debt instruments, preference shares and convertible bonds.
PrimaryBid plans to use its geographical expansion strategy to further penetrate the capital markets in Europe, Asia Pacific as well as North America. This expansion will likely open up access to expanded investor pools in multiple jurisdictions and lead to attractive market opportunities such as improving liquidity of former hard-to-access investments.
The startup also plans on investing a substantial portion of the recently raised funds into technology development meant to become a leader in this market segment by providing a secure, reliable and user-friendly digital platform for efficient transactions between retail investors and issuers.
In addition, this round of funding provides PrimaryBid with an opportunity to leverage resources within highly specialized service providers among other business partners to further reduce barriers that limit investments by retail investors within growth companies worldwide.
Improved Technology
In a recent Series C funding round, UK-based investment platform PrimaryBid has raised $190M. This capital injection provides PrimaryBid the resources to continue developing their technology solutions and services. The new funds will improve their suitability and scalability, making it easier for retail investors to access high-quality opportunities.
The current platform enables users to finalise blockbuster fundraises in a matter of hours, with more than 6 million retail investors active on the platform. One of its most notable successes was accessing an £8bn Virgin Money takeover by CYBG earlier this year. By further developing the technology, PrimaryBid hopes to improve the user experience and enable even more involvement from retail investors in such large-scale fundraisings.
PrimaryBid CEO Anand Sambasivan expressed his enthusiasm for this latest funding injection, which came from existing partners Temasek Holdings, Draper Esprit and funds advised by Novalpina Capital & SoftBank Group as new investors AXA Ventures and HSBC Private Bank UK. Leveraging their expertise in digital banking space support development of investments products for new future markets such as AI exchanged funds (AIXs), tokenised assets, ecosystems etc.. Sambasivan said this latest investment will ‘provide our customers access to ever better products and features enabling them to engage with relevant information faster’.
Conclusion
The raise of $190M for Investment platform PrimaryBid brings the total amount raised to about $220M. This new round of financing is one of the largest investments in the space, and it is likely to be used to further develop the platform, expand reach and continue expansion into new markets.
PrimaryBid was developed because of increased access, transparency and trust in syndicate investments in publicly-traded companies. Growing at an impressive rate, they offer a unique solution that offers companies increased investor outreach while providing investors more options when participating in a public offering. With their latest round of capital, they have positioned themselves well for future growth opportunities and stand out as one of the most exciting investment platforms.
