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The European venture capital landscape: an EIF perspective. Volume III: Liquidity events and returns of EIF-backed VC investments

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  • Prencipe, Dario

Abstract

Despite the sometimes intensive media coverage and exuberant storytelling around the industry, venture capital (VC) investors tend to operate in highly opaque markets. On this premise, this work contributes to the literature via a hand-collected dataset of about 3,600 EIF-backed VC investments made in the 1996-2015 period, with the aim to analyse their liquidity events and returns. The paper finds, inter alia, that VC returns show sensitivity to the economic cycle. At the same time, it discusses how their heterogeneity leaves room for VC firms to pursue diversification strategies and minimise the correlation with other asset classes. Moreover, this work provides preliminary evidence in support of the often claimed heuristic that VC returns follow a power-law. Finally, it employs competing risks models to analyse time-to-outcome data, observing that VC firm experience only relates positively to performance when outstanding (e.g. 3rd generation fund or above). However, this may also be a reflection of EIF's high-standard screening of first-time VC teams. The paper is structured as follows. Section 1 introduces the key research motivations, while section 2 discusses the features of the analysed dataset. Section 3 provides a descriptive overview of the data, while section 4 discusses the statistical test of power-law behaviour. Section 5 explores exit outcomes against the background of profitable or unprofitable trade sales. Last, section 6 analyses the determinants of exit outcomes. Section 7 concludes.

Suggested Citation

  • Prencipe, Dario, 2017. "The European venture capital landscape: an EIF perspective. Volume III: Liquidity events and returns of EIF-backed VC investments," EIF Working Paper Series 2017/41, European Investment Fund (EIF).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:eifwps:201741
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Andrew Ang & Morten Sorensen, 2012. "Risks, Returns, and Optimal Holdings of Private Equity: A Survey of Existing Approaches," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(03), pages 1-27.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2019. "European Small Business Finance Outlook: June 2019," EIF Working Paper Series 2019/57, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    2. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2017. "European Small Business Finance Outlook: December 2017," EIF Working Paper Series 2017/46, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    3. Pavlova, Elitsa & Signore, Simone, 2021. "The European venture capital landscape: An EIF perspective. Volume VI: The impact of VC on the exit and innovation outcomes of EIF-backed start-ups," EIF Working Paper Series 2021/70, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    4. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2019. "European Small Business Finance Outlook: December 2019," EIF Working Paper Series 2019/61, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    5. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2020. "European Small Business Finance Outlook 2020: The impact of COVID-19 on SME financing markets," EIF Working Paper Series 2020/67, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    6. Wendy A. Bradley & Gilles Duruflé & Thomas F. Hellmann & Karen E. Wilson, 2019. "Cross-Border Venture Capital Investments: What Is the Role of Public Policy?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, July.
    7. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2018. "European Small Business Finance Outlook: June 2018," EIF Working Paper Series 2018/50, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    8. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2021. "European Small Business Finance Outlook 2021," EIF Working Paper Series 2021/75, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    9. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter & Gvetadze, Salome, 2017. "European Small Business Finance Outlook: June 2017," EIF Working Paper Series 2017/43, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    10. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2018. "European Small Business Finance Outlook: December 2018," EIF Working Paper Series 2018/53, European Investment Fund (EIF).
    11. Lahr, Henry, 2023. "Fat tails in private equity fund returns: The smooth double Pareto distribution," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Kraemer-Eis, Helmut & Botsari, Antonia & Gvetadze, Salome & Lang, Frank & Torfs, Wouter, 2022. "European Small Business Finance Outlook 2022," EIF Working Paper Series 2022/84, European Investment Fund (EIF).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    EIF; venture capital; performance; fat tails; divestment; IPO; competing risk analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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