While informed private equity (PE) investors screen for the most promising ventures, firms may avoid raising of PE for issues of cost and control. A critical question therefore is: which firms get PE? We consider both supply and demande side arguments to study the characteristics of a sample of...

This paper analyses the duration of the time to exit of distressed firms, differentiating between involuntary exits (mainly bankruptcies) and voluntary liquidations. It examines how long firms survive after initial signs of economic distress. The study is conducted on an extensive dataset of...

We investigate whether a firm’s disclosure policy is affected by the changing corporate setting and intensified corporate governance associated with private equity (PE) investments. For a unique sample of unquoted PE backed firms we observe a significant switch to increased financial...

In this paper we evaluate whether government intervention through the public funding of business angel networks is warranted. Based on a regional study of four BANs, we find that these subsidies reach their goals in terms of contribution to economic development and reducing financing and...

We argue and empirically show on a sample of 270 unquoted, private equity backed companies that the shareholder structure of private companies influences the quality of their accounting information. We show that companies in which private equity (PE) investors have a higher equity stake produce...

We study the financing strategies of 191 start-ups after they have received venture capital (VC) and thereby contribute to the staging literature. The VC backed start-ups have raised financing on 345 occasions over a five-year period after the initial VC investment. Surprisingly, bank debt is...

We examine the neglected area of internationalisation by VCs. Using a representative sample of 195 VCs, we show that the decision of a European VC firm to invest internationally is driven by its human resources. Having more VC executives in general and more VC executives with previous...

This paper investigates how angel investors’ human capital affects the valuation of their portfolio companies at initial investment, based on the pre-money valuation of 59 investments in young Belgian companies. We show that entrepreneurs are able to negotiate higher valuations with angel...

Building upon self-efficacy and collective effort theories, we study the association between the selection behavior of venture capitalists and their involvement in value adding activities. We argue that investors, who prioritize different characteristics of a business proposal during selection,...

Although scholars agree that not all partners are equal, it remains unclear whether companies will particularly benefit from forming relationships with more experienced or more legitimate firms. This study examines the impact of venture capital firm experience and legitimacy on portfolio company...