Trade Republic becomes Decacorn in €1.2bn secondary round at €12.5bn valuation

Trade Republic has reached decacorn status following a large secondary share sale of more than €1 billion , valuing the German fintech at around €12.5 billion . The transaction allows existing shareholders to sell part of their stakes, rather than raising fresh capital, giving investors and employees liquidity while the company remains private. It is one of the largest secondary deals seen in European tech in recent years.

The buyer group is notably global and diversified. Alongside US investors such as Founders Fund and Sequoia , the deal brings in Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and prominent European capital , including investment vehicles linked to Bernard Arnault’s family . Their participation highlights growing confidence from long-term institutional and family office investors outside the traditional US venture capital circle.

On the sell side, early European backers such as Project A and Creandum are reported to be partially cashing out, locking in returns after years of backing the company. This kind of outcome remains relatively rare in Europe, where many funds have been waiting for liquidity as IPO markets stay quiet. Secondary transactions like this offer an alternative path to returns without forcing companies to go public too early.

Beyond Trade Republic itself, the deal is widely seen as a positive signal for the European venture ecosystem . It shows that large, profitable European tech companies can attract global capital and provide meaningful liquidity at scale. The involvement of investors like GIC and the Arnault family also suggests Europe is increasingly viewed as a place to deploy long-term capital — not just build startups, but back them through maturity.

Sources:
Trading View
TechEU
Financial Times

A.M.