Private Equity & Venture Capital
Interested in private equity & venture capital with time over Thanksgiving, then check out this guide.
According to Wikipedia, a “private equity fund is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) . . . . Private equity funds are typically limited partnerships with a fixed term of 10 years (often with annual extensions). . . . A private equity fund is raised and managed by investment professionals of a specific private equity firm (the general partner and investment advisor).”
“A venture capitalist is a person or investment firm that makes venture investments, and these venture capitalists are expected to bring managerial and technical expertise as well as capital to their investments. A venture capital fund refers to a pooled investment vehicle (often an LP or LLC) that primarily invests the financial capital of third-party investors in enterprises that are too risky for the standard capital markets or bank loans.”
Here are some places to visit for your research into the industry or on specific deals and firms.
Databases
Pitchbook provides data on private equity deals. Use Pitchbook to review profiles on over 42,000 hard to find private equity backed companies, gather detailed intelligence on PE investors and fund performance, or just look at over 50,000 PE deals and their financials. Access to Pitchbook is controlled by individual account. Use your Harvard Law School email address to request access.
VCDeal provides news, investor information, funding activities, analysis, and other relevant data in venture capital. Create tables based on data such as industry, country, investor and deal-round.
Deal Pipeline provides news coverage, analysis and data for bankruptcy, debt financing, hedge funds, IPOs and offerings, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, restructuring, risk arbitrage and venture capital. Deal Pipeline focuses on private companies and difficult-to-track middle market deals and includes access to searchable archives, research and statistics.
Practice Guides
Venture Capital and Small Business Financings (available on West)
Private Equity & Similar Funds (available on West)
Private Equity Fund Transactions (multi-jurisdiction) (available on GTDT)
Private Equity Fund Formation (multi-jurisdiction) (available on GTDT)
Books
Harry Cendrowski, et al., Private Equity: History, Governance, and Operations (2008) (HLS & HBS)
Darek Klonowski, The Venture Capital Investment Process (2010) (HBS)
Neil J. Beaton, Valuing Early Stage and Venture-Backed Companies (2010) (eBook)
Rules & Regulations
In the US, the Federal Register contains most of the important summary, explanatory and documentary information on an agency’s rule; the Code of Federal Regulations contains the text of final rules. For help tracking regulations, check out Regulations.gov.
Here’s a recently proposed rule promulgated by the SEC entitled:
Prohibitions and Restrictions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests In, and Relationships with, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds Trading and Certain Interests In, and Relationships with, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds
The European Union Commission is also considering new ways to regulate venture capital firms.
Here’s a recently proposed rule entitled:
Consultation on a new European regime for Venture Capital
Law Firm Memos
Memos are a great resource for getting an overview of the scope and impact of regulations. For an efficient search, use Knowledge Mosaic memos re: Private Equity, Venture Capital & Hedge Funds. Here’s a recent memo by Ropes & Gray discussing potential impact of the Volcker Rule on private funds.
Model Forms
The National Venture Capital Association publishes model venture capital transaction documents on its website. These documents can be used as a starting point or comparison point for deal documents.
Odds & Ends
Video from FT that asks: Can Private Equity Help in a Downturn?
Venture Capitalist interview from The Guardian
Private Equity Analyst interview from The Guardian
Further Research Guidance
HLS Research Consult
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/services/research-appointment.html
HBS VC & PE Research Guide
http://www.library.hbs.edu/guides/vcpe.html
HBS Venture Capital Databases
http://www.library.hbs.edu/databases/by_subject/venture_capital.html
HBS Private Equity Databases
http://www.library.hbs.edu/databases/by_subject/private_equity.html