Access Is Product in Private Secondaries
Ani Banerjee, co-founder of Andromeda Group, on secondary diligence and companies staying private
This reveals that access is the real product in private secondaries, not just price. In the broker led market, buyers often chase scattered blocks of stock with limited data, unclear seller intent, and long closing timelines, while brokers are paid to move deals rather than protect long term cap table quality. That pushes serious buyers toward founder introductions, repeat counterparties, and trusted networks where they can actually get information, win ROFR approval, and close.
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The core problem is negative selection. When many brokers suddenly push the same late stage name, that can signal insiders want out before others know why. In practice, buyers may get little company data, sometimes none at all, and still have only days to decide.
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Brokers also sit inside a messy workflow. A secondary trade can require negotiating price, checking share class, reviewing the preference stack, getting lawyers involved, and securing the companys ROFR waiver. That process can take weeks, so deals often break when public comps move or a higher bidder appears.
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This is why newer platforms try to replace broker hustle with software and issuer control. CartaX emphasized company approved auctions with fuller disclosures. Augment focuses on transparent order matching and workflow tools for brokers, issuers, and transfer processes. Both are trying to turn a relationship market into a process market.
The market is heading toward more structured, company sanctioned liquidity, where trust comes from standardized workflows instead of personal backchannels alone. As private companies stay private longer, the winners will be the platforms and investors that can combine issuer approval, better disclosure, and faster execution without turning the cap table into chaos.