Nasdaq Partners with G Squared for Better Private Market Liquidity Infrastructure
Liquidity in private markets has long been uneven, episodic, and dependent on market timing. A newly announced strategic partnership between G Squared and Nasdaq Private Market (NPM) aims to change that dynamic by institutionalizing secondary liquidity as a repeatable, company-driven function rather than a one-off event.
The collaboration pairs G Squared’s dedicated secondary capital with NPM’s execution platform, infrastructure, and issuer network. Together, the firms are positioning themselves as long-term partners for private structured liquidity to employees and shareholders while remaining private for extended periods.
As companies delay IPOs and stay private well beyond a decade, this partnership reflects a broader structural shift: liquidity is no longer a public-market-only feature, but a strategic requirement across the private lifecycle.
Why Secondary Liquidity Has Become Strategic, Not Optional
The average time to IPO has stretched significantly over the past decade, particularly for venture-backed technology companies. While extended private lifecycles allow founders to avoid public-market volatility and regulatory scrutiny, they also create pressure on employees, ahead investors, and long-tenured stakeholders who may hold illiquid equity for years.
Secondary liquidity has increasingly become a talent retention and compensation tool rather than a mere financial convenience. Companies that can offer periodic, well-structured liquidity events are better positioned to compete for senior hires, retain ahead employees, and manage internal expectations without resorting to premature public listings.
However, executing secondaries is operationally complex. Management teams must balance valuation sensitivity, cap table integrity, regulatory considerations, and investor alignment. This complexity has created demand for trusted partners that can provide both capital and execution without distorting long-term incentives.
Takeaway
What the G Squared–NPM Alliance Changes in Practice
The partnership formalizes a division of labor that many private companies have struggled to assemble independently. G Squared acts as the primary capital provider for eligible secondary programs, while Nasdaq Private Market supplies the technology, compliance framework, and execution .
This structure reduces friction for issuers by eliminating the need to source passive secondary capital on an ad hoc basis. can focus on operating the business while relying on a pre-aligned investor and platform to deliver liquidity under clahead defined terms.
significantly, the alliance is designed to support a spectrum of use cases, from special situation liquidity events to large-scale, recurring tender offers. That flexibility reflects the reality that liquidity needs vary significantly depending on company maturity, market conditions, and shareholder composition.
Takeaway
Implications for the Private Market Ecosystem
This partnership highlights how private markets are borrowing institutional practices from threshold. Regularized liquidity, clearer price discovery, and scalable infrastructure are increasingly expected by employees and investors alike.
For platforms like Nasdaq Private Market, aligning with a specialist secondary investor enhances credibility and expands the range of programs that can be offered to issuers. For G Squared, the alliance provides consistent deal flow and access to high-quality private companies viewking long-term, non-disruptive liquidity answers.
Over time, arrangements like this may redefine how success is measured in private markets. Rather than viewing IPOs as the sole liquidity endpoint, companies may increasingly adopt hybrid models where controlled secondary events coexist with extended private ownership.
