Liquid Stock has introduced Spark, an evergreen financing vehicle designed to provide cost-efficient liquidity to employees and other shareholders of private technology companies after the issuer has publicly filed an S-1 registration statement.
The New York-based firm said Spark is structured to advance up to 50% of a shareholder’s pre-IPO share value while allowing participants to retain their ownership position and potential upside. Liquid Stock characterized the offering as a “permanent capital” approach intended to reduce financing costs relative to traditional private-market liquidity solutions.
Co-founder Jeffrey Le Sage said the product targets a critical point in the private-company lifecycle—after a public S-1 filing but ahead of an initial public offering—when employees and early shareholders may want liquidity without selling shares in a conventional secondary transaction. Liquid Stock said the program is designed to avoid changes to a company’s capitalization table while still giving employees a path to access value.
The company said it will work with both companies and employees to implement a tax-efficient structure that provides liquidity without requiring a secondary sale. Liquid Stock also positioned Spark as a tool for option holders, saying earlier access to financing can enable employees to exercise and become shareholders sooner—potentially shifting the character of future gains from ordinary income to capital gains, depending on individual circumstances and applicable tax rules.
Greg Martin, also a co-founder, said the structure combines Liquid Stock’s experience in structured secondaries with permanent capital from a capital partner, which the firm said helps deliver what it views as a more efficient cost of capital at the post–S-1 stage.
Liquid Stock said it has historically focused on structured secondary solutions for employees and shareholders of late-stage private companies, including financing to support stock option exercises and other liquidity needs.
The company emphasized that the announcement is informational and not an offer to sell securities or a solicitation to buy securities, and noted that transactions are subject to eligibility, approvals, definitive documentation, and legal, tax, and regulatory review. It also said terms and availability may change.
KEY QUOTES:
“Spark is a first-of-its-kind permanent capital solution that provides employees and shareholders with liquidity at a pivotal moment in a private company’s life cycle. We can now offer a higher advance and a lower cost of capital than traditional private market solutions, aligning the interests of companies, employees, and shareholders.”
Jeffrey Le Sage, Co-Founder, Liquid Stock
“Spark enables employees and shareholders to optimize taxes, preserve ownership, and capture more of the value they’ve helped create. By pairing our structured secondary expertise with our capital partner’s permanent capital, we’re delivering efficient cost of capital at a pivotal moment for private companies and their employees. We view Spark as an innovative and integral addition to the private markets landscape.”
Greg Martin, Co-Founder, Liquid Stock
