In the world of venture capital, there are certain investor rights that ensure the smooth execution of exit transactions.  The primary such mechanism is the drag-along provision, under which one group of stockholders agrees in advance to sell or vote their shares in a sale of the company approved by another group of stockholders and/or

“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” Such was the lament of John Ray, the legendary restructuring executive tasked with the unenviable assignment of serving as the caretaker CEO of bankrupt FTX Trading Ltd.  As

Two startups with competing, equally compelling technologies at the same stage of development are pitching venture capital investors for Series A funding.  One startup is led by a serial entrepreneur founder, the other by a novice.  Assume each will get funded.  In all likelihood, the deal will happen quicker and the amount funded and pre-money

2021 was a spectacular year for the American venture capital ecosystem, with VC investments, fundraising and exits all setting new highs.  That according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, the self-described definitive review of the U.S. venture capital ecosystem.  Nevertheless, it is difficult to predict how 2022 will turn out for the VC industry,

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

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

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

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 Financial Choice ActEntrepreneurs. Although the thrust of the bill is focused on repeal or modification of significant portions of the Dodd-Frank

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