Valuation services heats up with launch of Solium Analytics

Solium Capital, the Calgary provider of financial reporting and compliance, this week announced the launch of Solium Analytics to produce 409A valuation reports and related services.

The 409A reports are essential for any company in a venture-firm portfolio since they generate the value of common shares, such as when they are issued as incentives to employees and prior to public offerings.

Solium’s launch of the group comes less than two months after eShares purchased SVB Analytics in September. Terms weren’t disclosed.

In a twist to that acquisition, four senior members of the SVB Analytics team — Steve Liu, Betty Ma, Russ Zanetti and Scott Winder — came over to Solium instead of joining eShares, which rebranded as Carta after the acquisition.

A source close to the matter said the four chose not to join eShares as part of the acquisition of SVB Analytics and instead relaunched their valuation practice at Solium, joining at the same time in mid-September.

Solium, which has an office South of Market (SoMa) in San Francisco, said the four team members completed more than 5,000 409A valuations at SVB Analytics and have successfully helped 75 startups through their IPO processes.

Other independent third-party firms also provide similar services, which are required for companies in compliance with safe-harbour laws.

For example, two California companies, Early Growth Financial Services in San Jose and Redwood Valuation Partners of Palo Alto, provide companies with similar tax and financial reporting valuation services.

To bolster the impact of its analytics arm, Solium also announced a strategic partnership with Long-Term Stock Exchange to provide valuations for emerging high-growth companies through its Fast409A platform.

Fast409A combines software automation and the expertise of the Solium Analytics team to streamline preparation time and deliver a 409A valuation report in just a few days, Solium said.

The LTSE was launched by Eric Ries, a San Francisco entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup. It includes backing from Marc Andreessen, among others.

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