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The investment strategies of publicly sponsored venture capital funds

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  • Buzzacchi, Luigi
  • Scellato, Giuseppe
  • Ughetto, Elisa

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of public ownership on the investment strategy of hybrid VC funds. We exploit a unique dataset containing data for all of the venture capital funds in Europe that received financial support from the European Investment Fund (EIF) during the years 1998–2007. The dataset includes 179 VC funds that invested in 2482 companies. We find that the level of public ownership shows a weak negative correlation with the likelihood of observing a write-off and that a higher public share is associated with a longer duration for the investment. The latter effect is more relevant for those investments that generate intermediate financial returns. The results are robust to the introduction of controls at the target firm level and for financial market conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Buzzacchi, Luigi & Scellato, Giuseppe & Ughetto, Elisa, 2013. "The investment strategies of publicly sponsored venture capital funds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 707-716.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:37:y:2013:i:3:p:707-716
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2012.10.018
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    Cited by:

    1. Laura Abrardi & Annalisa Croce & Elisa Ughetto, 2019. "The dynamics of switching between governmental and independent venture capitalists: theory and evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 165-188, June.
    2. Jonathan Labbé, 2017. "Private Equity: Universality of financing and universality of effects on business innovation? A conceptual approach [Capital-investissement : Universalité du financement et universalité des effets ," Post-Print hal-03000109, HAL.
    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. Buzzacchi, Luigi & Scellato, Giuseppe & Ughetto, Elisa, 2015. "Investment stage drifts and venture capital managerial incentives," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 118-128.
    5. Zhang, Yuejia & Mayes, David Geoffrey, 2018. "The performance of governmental venture capital firms: A life cycle perspective and evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 162-185.
    6. Fabio Bertoni & Diego D’Adda & Luca Grilli, 2016. "Cherry-picking or frog-kissing? A theoretical analysis of how investors select entrepreneurial ventures in thin venture capital markets," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 391-405, March.
    7. Soleimani Dahaj, Arash & Cozzarin, Brian Paul, 2019. "Government venture capital and cross-border investment," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 113-127.
    8. Jonathan Labbé, 2016. "Relationship between private and public investors: lever or hindrance to innovation [Relations entre investisseurs privés et publics : levier ou obstacle à l'innovation]," Post-Print hal-03000105, HAL.
    9. Guerini, Massimiliano & Quas, Anita, 2016. "Governmental venture capital in Europe: Screening and certification," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 175-195.
    10. Annalisa Croce & Diego D’Adda & Elisa Ughetto, 2015. "Venture capital financing and the financial distress risk of portfolio firms: How independent and bank-affiliated investors differ," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 189-206, January.
    11. Jeaneth Johansson & Malin Malmström & Joakim Wincent, 2021. "Sustainable Investments in Responsible SMEs: That’s What’s Distinguish Government VCs from Private VCs," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, January.
    12. Andrei Dubovik & Joep Steegmans, 2017. "The Performance of Publicly Managed Venture Capital Funds," CPB Discussion Paper 355, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    13. Arena, Marika & Bengo, Irene & Calderini, Mario & Chiodo, Veronica, 2018. "Unlocking finance for social tech start-ups: Is there a new opportunity space?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 154-165.
    14. Thomas Standaert & Sophie Manigart, 2018. "Government as fund-of-fund and VC fund sponsors: effect on employment in portfolio companies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 357-373, February.
    15. Engberg, Erik & Halvarsson, Daniel & Tingvall, Patrik, 2017. "Direct and Indirect Effects of Private- and Government Sponsored Venture Capital," Ratio Working Papers 288, The Ratio Institute.
    16. Christian Cancino & Claudio Bonilla & Marcos Vergara, 2016. "The impact of government support programs for the development of businesses in Chile," Serie Working Papers 28, Universidad del Desarrollo, School of Business and Economics.
    17. Karsai, Judit, 2015. "Állami szerepvállalás a kelet-közép-európai kockázatitőke-piacon [The role of government in the Central and East European venture-capital market]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1172-1195.
    18. Erik Engberg & Patrik Gustavsson Tingvall & Daniel Halvarsson, 2021. "Direct and indirect effects of private- and government-sponsored venture capital," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 701-735, February.
    19. Yannis Pierrakis & George Saridakis, 2019. "The role of venture capitalists in the regional innovation ecosystem: a comparison of networking patterns between private and publicly backed venture capital funds," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 850-873, June.
    20. Fabio Bertoni & Massimo G. Colombo & Anita Quas & Francesca Tenca, 2019. "The changing patterns of venture capital investments in Europe," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(2), pages 229-250, June.
    21. Jianjun Xu & Lijie Yu & Rakesh Gupta, 2020. "Evaluating the Performance of the Government Venture Capital Guiding Fund Using the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    22. Pierrakis, Yannis & Saridakis, George, 2017. "Do publicly backed venture capital investments promote innovation? Differences between privately and publicly backed funds in the UK venture capital market," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 55-64.
    23. Andrei Dubovik & Joep Steegmans, 2017. "The Performance of Publicly Managed Venture Capital Funds," CPB Discussion Paper 355.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    24. Judit Karsai, 2015. "Are CEE states successful as venture capitalists?," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1539, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    25. Annalisa Croce & Elisa Ughetto, 2019. "The role of venture quality and investor reputation in the switching phenomenon to different types of venture capitalists," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(2), pages 191-227, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public venture capital; Duration; Write-off;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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