Post-IPO lead venture capital firm involvement, merger-related litigation and target firm valuation

Abstract

Venture capital firms (VCs) provide certification and monitoring services to the initial public offering (IPO) companies they finance, as has been well documented in the academic literature. Yet, there are few studies that explore what role – if any – VCs play when an IPO company is subsequently acquired, particularly if that acquisition is legally contested. Using a sample of 721 merger and acquisition (M&A) offers for US VC-backed IPO companies, announced between 1996 and 2018, we find that a takeover bid that occurs in the presence of the lead VC commands a higher target firm valuation and is less likely to be legally contested than a bid for a company from which the lead VC has already exited. In addition, companies in which the lead VC is present enjoy higher stock-price returns in response to M&A announcements. Our results provide new evidence regarding VC certification and monitoring – including its role as a litigation deterrent – long after the IPO.