Houlihan Lokey Advises TA Associates

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that TA Associates, a leading global private equity firm, has agreed to invest in smartTrade Technologies (smartTrade), a leading global provider of multi-asset electronic trading and payments platforms, alongside the CEO and management team. The transaction was signed on 3 April 2025.

Headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, with subsidiaries in London, Paris, Geneva, New York, Toronto, Tokyo, and Singapore, smartTrade empowers customers to grow their electronic trading and payments businesses through secure, cost-efficient, and technologically advanced end-to-end SaaS solutions. TA Associates’ investment would support continued product innovation, geographic expansion, and scalable growth, with a particular emphasis on AI-driven solutions and deployment flexibility.

Upon completion of the transaction, Hg, a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses, would fully exit its majority investment in smartTrade. The transaction will be subject to the customary workers’ council consultation process under applicable laws.

David Vincent, CEO and Co-Founder of smartTrade, said, “Our customers have always been our North Star and this partnership with TA will enhance our ability to serve them with innovative trading and payments solutions. My decision to invest alongside the management team and TA underscores our shared belief in smartTrade’s trajectory. We’re grateful to Hg for their strategic support over the past five years. During that time, we doubled our revenue, executed our first acquisition, which strengthened our presence in North America, and laid the foundation for scalable growth. Looking ahead, we are committed to driving the next wave of client-centric innovation, including accelerated AI adoption and greater flexibility in hosting and execution, to meet our customers’ evolving needs.”

Houlihan Lokey served as the buyside advisor to TA Associates and was mandated for its strong track record and expertise in the software and FinTech space as well as its international footprint and local coverage.

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