Morgan Stanley to Acquire Vinyl Equity for Share Services

Morgan Stanley has agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent whose technology records share ownership and processes transfers, to expand services for companies moving between private and public markets. The bank announced the agreement on November 9 and expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary conditions. It has not disclosed the purchase price.

Vinyl’s platform is intended to add ownership-recordkeeping and share-transfer capabilities to Morgan Stanley at Work and the bank’s broader services for private companies. Morgan Stanley said the technology could help clients manage equity administration as they prepare to enter public markets. Vinyl is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a transfer agent, a role that includes maintaining records of share ownership and processing changes to those records.

The acquisition would complement services Morgan Stanley already offers later-stage private companies, including the Private Markets Transaction Desk and EquityZen, a marketplace for private-company shares. The bank said its workplace business serves 3,400 corporate clients and 6.7 million...