SharesPost Announces the Industry’s First Value Index for Venture-Back Companies

SharesPost Index to Track Value of “Blue Chip” Private Companies and Become a Barometer for Measuring the Performance of Private Equity Investments

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SharesPost today launched the first index to track the performance of “blue chip” venture-backed, pre-IPO companies. The SharesPost Index serves as the industry’s first benchmark for the valuation of private companies and includes Facebook, Linden Lab, LinkedIn, Tesla Motors, Serious Materials, Twitter and Zynga.

“SharesPost is the only platform connecting buyers and sellers of private company shares directly, and helping companies manage those transactions”

Prior to the launch of the SharesPost Index, there was no benchmark that reflected real-time market input on the value of venture-backed companies. By integrating the most relevant available data surrounding company value, including real-time transactions in the company’s shares, current posted indications of interest for future transactions, research report estimates and venture capital financing valuations, the SharesPost Index strengthens SharesPost’s leadership position as the source of valuation data and transaction information for venture-backed private companies.

“Since our launch just a few months ago, we’ve connected buyers and sellers directly in the negotiations of more than $229MM worth of transactions and seen more than $300MM worth of posts to buy and sell. Part of our job is to support those discussions by surfacing as much data and analysis as possible—the SharesPost Index is the next logical step in those efforts,” said Greg Brogger, founder and CEO of SharesPost.

“Given the rapidly growing size and importance of the private equity asset class, everyone recognizes that the industry needs to move toward greater transparency,” said Michael Moe, former head of global growth research at Merrill Lynch, CEO of ThinkEquity Partners and founder of NeXt Up Research. “As the first market index of its kind for venture-backed companies, the SharesPost Index is a key milestone in creating that transparency and enabling liquidity in the private equity market.”

“SharesPost is the only platform connecting buyers and sellers of private company shares directly, and helping companies manage those transactions,” said Investor Allen Morgan. “Now they’ve packaged the unique data their platform generates into an index that allows investors to see, in real-time, the changes in the value of leading private companies. It’s a much needed innovation within the venture industry.”

The SharesPost Index is available now at www.SharesPost.com. Institutional investors, venture capitalists and other members of the venture and financial services community may view the index at no cost with a free SharesPost membership.

About SharesPost

SharesPost makes private equity liquid by connecting buyers and sellers directly and facilitating easy, automated transactions. SharesPost is the first web-based platform to greatly reduce the cost, time and complexity of private equity transactions. SharesPost combines pricing and valuation data, and analysis with automated contracting, to bring transparency and efficiency to private equity and so encourage a new era of liquidity. SharesPost was developed by those it was designed to serve—entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists.

SharesPost is not a registered broker-dealer or registered securities exchange. SharesPost is not registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information, please visit www.sharespost.com.

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