Founders Choose Controlled Secondaries
Ani Banerjee, co-founder of Andromeda Group, on secondary diligence and companies staying private
The key point is that the strongest private companies often value shareholder control more than fast liquidity. A SPAC solves the problem of getting public quickly, but it also widens the investor base and brings public market pressure faster. For founder led companies that still have ample private capital and want to choose exactly which institutions sit on the cap table, controlled secondaries and direct listings can be a better fit.
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In this interview, the logic is simple, founders want liquidity without losing control. Banerjee repeatedly ties better private market tools to issuer centricity, meaning management can approve which buyers get in, instead of letting a bank, broker, or SPAC process effectively decide the shareholder mix.
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The closest alternative to a SPAC is not always a traditional IPO, it is a more liquid private market. Related research on privately traded companies frames secondaries as a way to create price discovery, give employees some cash out, and still preserve control over who owns the stock.
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That is why SPACs tend to appeal more when speed and certainty matter most, while the very best late stage companies can often wait. If demand for their shares is already strong in secondaries, they do not need to trade cap table control for immediate public market access.
The direction of travel is toward hybrid companies that stay private longer, run periodic liquidity programs, and go public only when public ownership becomes strategically useful. As private secondary infrastructure improves, the gap between being private and being liquid keeps shrinking, which makes the SPAC route less necessary for top tier companies.