Preply runs first employee tender offer at $1.2B valuation

What's the deal? Preply, the online language learning platform, has completed its first employee tender offer at a $1.2B valuation. The tender gave eligible staff the chance to sell a portion of their vested shares to investors before an IPO or acquisition — turning paper equity into real cash. A majority of eligible employees participated across departments, levels, and geographies, according to the company.

Why now? Companies are staying private longer, and employees are growing more aware of the gap between paper value and actual liquidity. Preply's chief financial officer Charlie Wickers said the company had reached "a level of scale and stability" that made this the right moment. Andreas Kyprianou, senior director of people ops, noted that candidates now ask sharper questions about when and how they can realise value from equity — not just how big the grant is.

The tender also doubles as a recruiting tool. "For candidates weighing Preply against a public company with liquid RSUs, we can point to a real liquidity event," Kyprianou said. In a market where top talent is sceptical of startup equity promises, that track record matters.

What could go wrong? Tender offers let employees cash out some upside, but they also mean forfeiting a slice of future gains if the company's value keeps climbing. Preply chief executive officer Kirill Bigai framed the move as part of a long-term strategy, yet there is no guarantee the next liquidity event will come at a higher valuation — or come at all.

There is also the question of signal versus substance. One tender at a single valuation does not solve the structural illiquidity of private-company equity. If Preply cannot repeat these events regularly, the recruiting advantage could fade.

The signal: The tender reflects a broader shift in how private tech companies think about compensation. As the median time to IPO stretches past a decade, employees are pushing back on the old bargain of "wait for the exit." Startups that want to compete for talent against public companies with liquid stock are finding they need to offer interim liquidity — or risk losing people who can't afford to wait.

Preply's move sits in a growing trend of late-stage startups running secondary sales and tender offers to keep teams motivated and invested. It suggests that for unicorns not yet ready to go public, the tender offer is becoming less of a perk and more of a necessity.

Sources:
Kirill Bigai
Preply

B.S.