Triago founder launches virtual deal room

Palico is describing itself as the first online marketplace for LPs and GPs to share fundraising, secondaries and co-investment opportunities.

Antoine Dréan, founder of placement agent Triago, has launched a first of its kind online marketplace that aims to unite “the fragmented, multi-trillion dollar global private equity fund community”, the private equity veteran said in a statement. 

Palico – which can be accessed from internet browsers or remotely via smart phones and tablets – goes a step further from its competitors by allowing LPs and GPs to not only engage in secondary transactions, but in fundraising and co-investment opportunities as well, said David Lanchner, a spokesperson for the platform. 
 
For a flat annual subscription fee LPs can search funds or sell and buy existing stakes using an auction service. GPs can in turn discover the identity of potential investors in exchange for giving them access to requested confidential investment documents (such as a private placement memorandum).
 
In response to some GP criticisms that online platforms were too impersonal for dealmaking, Lanchner said the platform was not intended to replace face to face meetings, but instead provide the industry another channel in cultivating relationships. “This platform recognizes that LPs need to freely compare and contrast investment opportunities across a full range of investment fund structures, both online and offline, in order to invest with GPs they are truly comfortable with.”
 
The service is also designed for placement agents to extend the reach of their fundraising and secondary mandates and to allow gatekeepers to discover and select a wider range of investment opportunities for their clients.