Crowdcube, the European marketplace for shares in private firms, and Crunchbase, an established data platform, have partnered in order to power the “most comprehensive” and transparent platform for private company investment in Europe.
Cubex, which officially goes live today (July 28, 2021), will feature “rich” company data offered by Crunchbase across 250,000+ firms. Cubex will allow investors “to discover, research and register interest to buy or sell shares in high growth private European businesses without waiting for the company to go public (IPO),” according to a release shared with CI. If enough interest is registered in any firm, Crowdcube will then “seek to facilitate a transaction,” the announcement noted.
Launched in response to the “growing trend” of businesses or companies staying private for longer, Cubex aims “to satisfy demand among existing shareholders, employees and founders to gain liquidity without waiting for an exit,” the released noted. At the same time, Crowdcube aims “to offer new investors the opportunity to invest in proven, high-growth, pre-IPO businesses that they’ve long admired but previously could not access.”
As stated in the announcement:
“From today (July 28), retail investors reviewing opportunities on Cubex will be able to access a deep pool of impartial, factual data directly drawn from Crunchbase, including the companies’ funding history, investor base and leadership team. Access to such detailed, enriched information will support potential investors’ due diligence before they decide whether to buy shares in the business or not.”
Matt Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer at Crowdcube, said that this partnership should help with offering a great investment experience for retail and professional investors, “providing a deep source of data on all of the companies listed on Cubex – not just those that have previously raised money with us.”
Cooper added that private markets can be “notoriously opaque, and potential investors, especially retail investors, deserve the widest possible access to information about the companies in which they intend to invest. ”
He remarked:
“Together, Crowdcube and Crunchbase are bringing a new level of data transparency to private company investing, raising the bar in terms of visibility, accessibility and ultimately doubling down our mission to democratize investment.”
This integration should also power various other parts of Cubex over time such as enhanced company information and other updates, “all steps to further improve the experience for investors.”