L'évaluation et le financement des start-up Internet

This paper discusses some phenomena in the corporate finance of internet start-ups that emerged during the ?internet buble? between 1998-2000. The advent of nternet start-ups had a major impact on the investment flow and the operations of the venture capital industry in the US and in Europe. It is argued that some of these transformations could be explained by the potential for specific agency conflicts in the financing of internet start-ups. The paper then turns to a discussion of initial public offerings and the listing of companies without near-term profitability, the capital structure of start-ups characterized by the dominance of equity, and the absence of dividend pay-outs. Finally, the valuation of companies and innovative techniques that supposedly can overcome obstacles in the accurate valuation of internet start-ups are discussed. Classification JEL : G31, G32, G35, L86