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NYSE Euronext has announced a strategic partnership with ACE, a transaction management platform for private placements of equity, debt and other securities. NYSE Euronext and ACE will establish an independent technology backbone for new issuances of private securities, with the goal of bringing greater transparency and efficiencies to the private market, just as NYSE Euronext has brought to the public market.
ACE provides investment banks and other placement agents with comprehensive transaction management and marketing tools for new issuances of private securities, as well as providing institutional investors, family offices and other accredited investors with a single, centralized platform for identifying and reviewing private investment opportunities. In a statement the company said that they were “focused on primary offerings and all offerings listed on ACE are managed by SEC-registered broker-dealers, which is essential to maintaining process integrity and regulatory oversight for the benefit of investors”.
Under the terms of the arrangement, NYSE Euronext has acquired a minority ownership position in ACE. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
“The partnership with ACE is a strategic extension of our institutional capital formation expertise in the public market,” said Scott Cutler, EVP and Head of Global Listings at NYSE Euronext. “Our goal is to bring greater efficiencies and transparency to the institutional private market, just as we have brought to the public market. ACE has taken a unique approach to improving the market for private placements and our goal is to make the private placement process more transparent, efficient and auditable for issuers, investors and placement agents.”
With over $1 trillion in annual offerings, the U.S. market for private placements is a large and increasingly attractive opportunity for both issuers and investors. Market efficiency, however, has been limited due to the labor-intensive, one-to-one marketing efforts conducted as a result of regulations and the absence of a centralized infrastructure. The ACE platform was designed to address these challenges. In addition, demand for more innovative technologies in the private market is accelerating.
“We could not have found a better strategic partner than NYSE Euronext,” said Peter Williams, CEO of ACE. “ACE is focused on adding efficiency to the existing institutional private capital markets. In particular, we concentrate on marketed new issuances, which drive economic growth. We are completely independent and do not disintermediate any of the key players in the process. Partnering with the world’s most recognized brand in capital formation and leveraging its full suite of resources will truly transform the private capital landscape.”
