New York-based SecondMarket, a marketplace and auction platform for alternative investments, has launched operations in Israel.

SecondMarket will introduce its private company stock market into the Israeli private company sector, providing Israeli companies with the tools to access capital and facilitate secondary liquidity for shareholders.

“Israel is an entrepreneurial hotbed and we are excited to work with the country’s most dynamic private companies,” says SecondMarket founder and chief executive Barry Silbert. “Our private company market allows companies to provide secondary liquidity to shareholders in a controlled environment where the companies dictate the parameters of the market. Our model has been extremely successful in the US and we believe it will also resonate in Israel.”

There are approximately 300,000 technology employees in Israel, many of whom have worked for multiple companies for which they hold stock options. SecondMarket’s introduction into the Israeli market allows these employees to sell shares in a company-controlled environment prior to an IPO or M&A transaction.

SecondMarket has built a network of over 20,000 market participants and has completed more than USD350m in transactions in venture-backed private companies, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

“SecondMarket’s private company market complements traditional financing methods and allows employees of Israeli start-ups to realize some of the value they’ve helped to create in their companies,” says Ranan Lachman, vice president at SecondMarket who will coordinate the company’s Israeli efforts. “Israel is a hub of technology and entrepreneurship, so it is only natural for SecondMarket to build and cultivate an Israeli presence.”