This past June, autonomous vehicle technology startup Zoox agreed to be acquired by Amazon for a whopping $1.3 billion. Time for the common stockholders to pop the champagne, right? Not exactly, according to a complaint filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery by two common stockholders. Although many details have been redacted from the public
“Whoever has the Gold, (Once Again) Makes the Rules”: VC Deal Terms Likely to be More Investor Favorable

It’s no shocker that the Coronavirus pandemic has slowed down venture capital investment dramatically, with 2020 now on pace to be well below the high levels of the past couple of years. According to Pitchbook, VC deal flow through June 28 fell to just 4,675 funding rounds as compared with 6,357 in the first…
Behind 2018’s Boom Year for Venture Capital

2018 was a historically good year for venture capital in the United States in terms of dollars invested by VC funds in U.S. companies, dollars raised by VC funds and dollar value of exits by VC-backed companies, according to the Venture Monitor for Q4 2018 published by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. VC…
“Third Time’s a Charm”: House Adopts JOBS Act 3.0 to Fix Earlier Capital Raising Reform Efforts

It’s not often that the House of Representatives votes nearly unanimously on anything noteworthy these days, but that’s exactly what the House did on July 17 in voting 406-4 for the “JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018”, also known on the street as “JOBS Act 3.0”, which is the latest iteration of the effort…
Good Choice: Important Capital Formation Reforms in Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 Passed by House

On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 on a vote of 233-186. Congress loves acronyms, and here “CHOICE” stands for Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs. Although the thrust of the bill is focused on repeal or modification of significant portions of the Dodd-Frank…
Irredeemable: Delaware Case Will Make Redemption Rights Tougher to Enforce

Venture capital funds routinely negotiate for a right of redemption – the right to require the company to buy out their shares after a certain period of time if an exit has not occurred – as a key element of their exit strategy. But according to a recent case in Delaware, the VCs and the…
Sellout: Why Control is Key in the Sale of VC-Backed Companies

Every founder of a growth startup dreams of a big, successful exit — a sale of the company for millions of dollars. But that dream could be shattered if the investors are able to cause the company to be sold prematurely with proceeds only equal to or barely exceeding the investors’ liquidation preferences, leaving little…
The JOBS Act at Five: Congressional Hearing Highlights Need for Further Reform
On March 22, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment of the Financial Services Committee conducted a hearing entitled “The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the U.S. Capital Markets”, focusing on the impact of the JOBS Act on the U.S. capital markets and its effect on capital…
Valuation Disconnect Leads to 2016 IPO Drought
2016 turned out to be a terrible year for IPOs, both in terms of number of deals and aggregate proceeds.
According to Renaissance Capital’s U.S. IPO Market 2016 Annual Review, only 105 companies went public on U.S. exchanges in 2016, raising only $19 billion in aggregate proceeds. The deal count of 105 IPOs was…
How Corporate Venture Capital Differs

Earlier this year, Union Square Ventures Managing Partner Fred Wilson famously referred to corporate VCs as “The Devil”, when he asserted that companies should not be investing in other companies, that they should be buying other companies but not taking minority positions in them, that the “access” rationale for corporate venture is a reason…