Morgan Stanley to buy PE trading platform EquityZen in Ted Pick’s first deal
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The news: Morgan Stanley will acquire private shares trading platform EquityZen in its first acquisition under CEO Ted Pick, as it looks to expand client access to the private market.
The deal comes as Wall Street races to meet growing demand for exposure to high-growth private companies. The transaction is expected to close in early 2026, the bank said in a statement, but terms were not disclosed.
The numbers: EquityZen was founded in 2013. It enables buying and selling of stakes in private companies and has more than 800,000 registered users, having facilitated over 49,000 transactions across more than 450 companies.
Headquartered in New York, the firm has about 50 staff that will now join the investment banking giant.
The investment bank expects to incur about USD100 million ($151.2 billion) in integration costs over the next two years.
The context: Investment banks are looking to boost their private markets coverage as fast-growing companies such as OpenAI, SpaceX and Bytedance delay IPOs and reach valuations that rival or surpass public market giants.
The shift has fuelled demand from investors eager to access private equity opportunities earlier, and from startup employees looking to monetise their equity.
Morgan Stanley has been steadily positioning itself in this space, including partnerships with equity management platform Carta and new adviser designations for those serving private company founders and employees, in line with moves by rivals.
The EquityZen deal, which according to Bloomberg had been in the works for nearly two years, is Pick’s first after succeeding James Gorman last year. Gorman’s tenure was defined by deals that expanded the bank’s money management operations, including the acquisitions of E*Trade, Eaton Vance and Solium Capital.
What they said: In a statement, the bank said EquityZen’s "issuer-aligned model" will support its efforts to deepen relationships with private companies.
"This will provide Morgan Stanley at Work participants access to additional liquidity options as well as increase access to private shares for Morgan Stanley’s Wealth clients," it said. Morgan Stanley at Work refers to the firm’s suite of workplace financial benefit programs offered through employers.
Michael Gaviser, head of private markets at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said: “We are seeing rising interest in private markets exposure across our 20 million clients. EquityZen is the link that connects supply and demand.”
The sources: Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters
