Start-Ups Could Sell Their Shares — Privately – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com
Given this, services like SharesPost could help start-up workers get some cash while awaiting a distant I.P.O. that might never even get off the ground. Most people won’t be in on the action, though, since these exchanges are only open to a small pool of buyers.
And it’s not clear how much — or how little — stock has changed hands through them. In its short life, Santa Monica, Calif.-based SharesPost said it has executed one $25,000 transaction, while another service, New York-based SecondMarket, said it has completed about 40 transactions in the past year worth about $150 million.
The concept is not entirely new. Nyppex, formed in 1998, facilitates private-company stock trades, and a few companies with similar offerings emerged during the last economic downturn but failed to gather much steam. Among the problems: Determining a fair price for a private company’s stock is tough without much public information.
via Start-Ups Could Sell Their Shares — Privately – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com.