Wayve launched an $85 million secondary share sale for employees today – a first for the UK.
Crowdcube managed the sell-side for the landmark transaction on the London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market, which is providing the autonomous driving firm with liquidity.
The PSM is an exchange designed to provide liquidity in some of the world’s leading later-stage private companies while also helping current employees with vested equity to unlock some of the value they have helped to create.
The transaction represents a major milestone for UK capital markets – not only the first employee share sale on the PSM but also the largest transaction under the FCA’s PISCES (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) regulation to date.
Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO, London Stock Exchange plc, said: “We are delighted to see the PISCES framework and our Private Securities Market being utilised by innovative companies, such as Wayve, seeking liquidity events for their stakeholders, including employees.”
Matt Cooper, Crowdcube co-CEO, said: “This is what we hope will be the first of many of these transactions with other partners for Crowdcube – using our leading infrastructure to manage a complex employee liquidity transaction on the London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market – as we’ve done for Wayve in this instance.
“As Europe’s leading private market liquidity platform, Crowdcube’s is seeing a massive increase in the number of companies looking to complete secondary share sales in the next 6-12 months.
“These are transactions for a wide variety of companies, providing liquidity for employees and early stage investors that Crowdcube can support, including through the Private Securities Market.”
The $85m employee tender was supported by Registered Auction Agents Stifel (sole and exclusive private placement agent) and advisors Latham & Watkins and Deloitte.