Are ventures better off with a CVC lead investor?

: evidence from IPOs of VC-backed startups

Abstract

The importance of the Venture Capital industry has been growing exponentially due to its impact on the economy, leading to trillions in revenues and millions in jobs created. Although its relevancy, the influence of the two main types of VCs on their backed startups has been understudied. This dissertation focuses on the value added by CVCs to the firms present on their portfolio, by comparing its IPO valuation with its IVC peers. In order to come up with significant results for this analysis, a sample of 719 VC-backed ventures, where 66 were CVC-backed, was extracted from Thomson Reuters. The empirical analysis focuses on the Propensity Score Matching approach, pairing ventures based on their probability of being funded by a corporate investor, and consequently, interpret the results derived from the valuation multiple ratios between the “nearest neighbors”. The results obtained showed that, startups which have an established corporation as their lead investor are able to achieve higher valuations at their IPO vis-à-vis its IVC-backed competitors. Moreover, it has been proven that the CVC-backed ventures outperformance is mainly driven by startups which hold a strategic fit with their investor, with higher strategic overlaps being translated into more significant valuations. This thesis contributes to the enrichment of the Industry’s literacy while also easing entrepreneurs’ decisions when choosing a funding partner.

Date of Award	27 Jan 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Fátima Shuwaikh (Supervisor)