Nomura launches private placement platform with Instinet
Nomura is launching a digital private investment platform in Europe using its Instinet trading platform, which aims to connect institutional investors with firms looking to raise private capital and streamline the fundraising process.
Nomura said Instinet DealMatch will be more efficient than traditional private placements and can speed up fundraising, giving private companies that are looking to raise money access to far more and varied institutional investors.
It is expected to be launched first in the UK and then expand to Continental Europe, a person familiar with the matter said. If successful, it will then likely be rolled out globally. Typical companies raising capital on the platform are expected to be valued at US$50m and above.
Banks are ramping up their focus on private companies, which are becoming larger and requiring more sophisticated financing tools. Bankers say with more 'unicorns' – private companies worth more than US$1bn – more investors are looking to invest in private firms, and looking at smaller firms too. Assets managed in private markets strategies have more than doubled in the past decade to more than US$7trn, according to analysis by Goldman Sachs.
Nomura wants to get an edge with the use of Instinet's platform, which has more than 1,000 buyside investors.
The Japanese bank said Instinet DealMatch will be a hub for all parts of the transaction process, such as giving investors access to teasers and offering memoranda, while transactions will be executed digitally, including registering indications of interest and placing orders. It will also help investors learn about new opportunities.
"Instinet DealMatch’s streamlined marketing and deep distribution capabilities provide companies looking to raise capital with access to a larger and more diverse pool of potential investors, combined with a digital workflow to significantly increase efficiency and transparency of the execution process," said Myles Evanson, Nomura's head of private placements for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Nomura bought Instinet in 2007. The platform offers research, trading, and data analytics for institutional investors and securities traders.