Key Takeaways:
Nasdaq Private Market agreed to acquire Nasdaq Fund Secondaries, extending its platform beyond direct company shares to offer liquidity in multi-asset fund stakes as the secondary market reached a record $233 billion.
"Liquidity is the defining challenge of today's private markets, and secondaries have become the primary release valve for investors and managers alike," said Tom Callahan, chief executive officer of Nasdaq Private Market. "By bringing fund secondaries onto our platform, we become one of the few platforms where investors can execute liquidity transactions across both direct shares and fund stakes."
Global secondary volume grew an estimated 53% in 2025 to roughly $233 billion, split almost evenly between LP-led and GP-led activity, according to Jefferies. GP-led transactions — where fund managers use continuation vehicles to return capital to investors while retaining their highest-conviction assets — have grown from less than 20% of the market a decade ago to nearly half today.
The acquisition positions NPM to serve the full spectrum of private secondary liquidity demand from a single platform. NPM has executed nearly $80 billion in secondary liquidity for more than 200,000 individual shareholders across 1,000 company-sponsored programs since spinning out of Nasdaq in 2021. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nasdaq remains a committed shareholder of NPM and will continue its partnership with the private markets platform, according to Nelson Griggs, president of Nasdaq.
"Nasdaq Fund Secondaries provides industry-leading liquidity solutions for GPs and LPs in the private markets and we believe it will be best positioned to realize its full potential within NPM, where it can benefit from greater focus, continued investment and the strengths of a dedicated private markets platform," Griggs said.
The combination allows the businesses to share processes, technology and distribution across both platforms, the companies said. NPM, which counts Nasdaq and other institutional investors as strategic backers, gains access to the full addressable market for fund secondaries through the acquisition.
Private secondaries have become a primary tool for investors seeking to unlock liquidity from long-dated, illiquid fund commitments. Limited partners sell existing fund stakes to rebalance portfolios in LP-led transactions, while GPs use structured solutions to return capital while retaining their best assets. The market's rapid growth — more than doubling from an estimated $110 billion in 2023 to $233 billion in 2025 — reflects the increasing demand for liquidity solutions in private markets.
For Nasdaq, the divestiture of its fund secondaries business streamlines its focus on its core technology platform operations while maintaining a strategic stake in NPM. The deal also signals consolidation in the fragmented secondary market, where specialized platforms are increasingly combining to offer end-to-end liquidity services across asset types.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
