Alternative assets marketplace Alta closes acquisition deal with Hg Exchange

Alta, a Singapore-based alternative assets marketplace that was previously named Fundnel, has reportedly acquired the virtual securities exchange Hg Exchange. 

As a result of the agreement, Hg Exchange will be a subsidiary of Alta from now on, also Nomura Holdings, Phillip Securities, Prime Partners, and Integra Partners will all become shareholders in Alta. According to a report by The Block, head of digital company at Nomura Holdings Hajime Ikeda commented on the recent development by stating:

“With the new brand launch and acquisition of Hg Exchange, Alta is affirming its leadership in private markets and continues to pave the way for broader acceptance of tokenized, asset-backed securities”.

Hg Exchange will now operate under the Alta Exchange name

With the acquisition, Alta will leverage Hg exchange’s capabilities to provide alternative asset tokenization and digital storage. Notably, the acquired exchange will now operate under the Alta Exchange name and continue to be run by Willie Chang, its existing CEO.

According to the post, Kelvin Lee, CEO and co-founder of Alta: “Today, by standardizing processes around our tokenized listings, we make investing in alternative cost-effective and transparent for investors”.

Other investing organizations are continuously looking towards tokenizing alternative assets. While private equity major KKR has been considering tokenizing funds on the Avalanche blockchain, Hamilton Lane investment firm collaborates with Securitize, to tokenize three funds from its $832.5 billion in assets under management.

Alta recently changed its name from Fundnel to better reflect the company’s mission of “alternative assets for all.” According to the company, it has already executed over 1,000 transactions since 2016 totaling more than $600 million.

A group of financial intermediaries, including Alta and PhillipCapital, founded the private exchange Hg Exchange in 2019. It is governed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Notably, Binance Asia Services, a Singapore-based division of Binance, acquired an 18% stake in Hg Exchange last year.