Role of Secondary Market Transactions in Venture Capital

The financial market where previously issued financial instruments like stock, bonds, options, and futures are purchased and sold is known as the secondary market. It is also known as the aftermarket. Start-ups with growth potential require a certain level of investment. Wealthy investors (venture capitalists) choose to put their money (venture capital) into these types of companies to achieve long-term growth. Shareholders selling shares in a privately held company supported by venture capital funding is considered a secondary market transaction in the venture capital industry. This article will answer how secondary market transactions are made in venture capital, what VC secondaries are, and what secondary market opportunities exist for investors.

Secondary market and venture capital

A secondary market is a place where essentially the transfer of ownership of an investment, whether direct or fund, from one investor to another. A manager can sell the investment to a third party if they need to obtain liquidity or change their portfolio. Most venture capital funds were previously too tiny to attract the interest of significant secondary players. But due to VC’s growth over the past ten years, it has already reached a considerable scale. A thriving secondary Venture Capital market has resulted from the privately owned companies’ rapid expansion and the vast supply of venture capital that supports them. The secondary market may be advantageous for current investors in the sector experiencing liquidity problems and prospective investors waiting in the wings and wanting to get in on the action.

Nowadays, it is increasingly typical for businesses to stay private for longer, which allows VC capital to be held in reserve for longer. The secondary market allows VC funds and other early-stage investors to recover their investments before a prospective initial public offering (IPO). As a result, firms with some level of scale and maturation can offer strong growth potential to new investors through the secondary VC market.

Understand venture capital

Startups and early-stage emerging businesses with little to no operating history. Venture capital funds purchase ownership holdings from start-up businesses in exchange for funding, managerial support, and technical assistance. The American venture capital sector is admired worldwide for catalyzing economic expansion. Although the public imagination romanticizes the industry, it is essential to distinguish between popular myths and contemporary reality to comprehend how this vital sector of the American economy functions. Such an examination could be beneficial for entrepreneurs (and would-be entrepreneurs). Contrary to popular belief, venture capital is not the primary funding source for fundamental innovation. Only 6%, or $600 million, of the more than $10 billion in investments made by venture capitalists in 1997 went to start-ups.

Additionally, we calculate that less than $1 billion of the overall venture capital pool was allocated to R&D. Most of that money supported projects with far more considerable sums from governments ($63 billion) and businesses ($133 billion). To sell a firm to a corporation or to enable the institutional public equity markets to intervene and offer liquidity, the goal is to invest in a company’s balance sheet and infrastructure. At the same time, it is still tiny and unproven. A venture capitalist invests in an entrepreneur’s idea by purchasing an interest in it, develops it for a bit of time, and then exits with the aid of an investment banker.

Understand secondary market

A secondary market is a marketplace where investors can exchange company shares. It implies that stock transactions between investors are unrestricted and independent of the issuing firm. The issuing firm does not participate in income production in these investor transactions; instead, the value of its shares is determined by how well it performs on the market. Thus, in this market, income is produced through the transfer of shares between investors. What makes secondary markets crucial? Secondary markets are significant because they give investors access to liquidity. Quick purchases and securities sales frequently lower the value lost on a trade. These marketplaces also make it possible for smaller investors to trade securities.

Secondary market functions

The main functions of secondary markets are as follows:

• Secondary markets or stock exchange houses check a company’s valuation before being included in their trade list.
• Without the involvement of the issuing firms, stock exchange houses offer investors a venue to trade securities, including equity shares, bonds, preference shares, treasury bills, debentures, etc.
• The market allows for active trading for immediate buying or selling with slight price variation between different transactions, and transactions can be completed at any moment.
• It is a fantastic way to gauge a country’s economic health and acts as a bridge between savings and investment.
• Shareholders can estimate how much they have invested in securities using the secondary market valuation data.
• Thanks to the secondary market for securities, investors can readily sell their securities holdings and convert them into cash when needed.
• The secondary market is a parameter for setting asset pricing in a transaction under supply and demand.

Types of secondary market

Stock exchanges and over-the-counter markets are the two main categories of secondary markets.

• Exchange – The stock exchange is a digital marketplace where traders transact in already-issued securities. It is a market where shares, stocks, debentures, bonds, futures, options, and other financial instruments are traded and hosted by an institute or other government organization. Buyers and sellers can meet on a stock exchange. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (JPX) are some of the biggest exchanges worldwide.
• OTC – Without using a central exchange or broker, market participants can trade stocks, commodities, currencies, or other financial instruments directly between two parties in a decentralized market known as an over-the-counter (OTC) market. Unlisted equities are traded on OTC marketplaces instead of traditional stock exchanges. Foreign exchange, ADRs, non-standardized derivatives, and new issuance are a few examples of over-the-counter stocks and securities.

Primary vs. secondary market – understand the difference

Understanding how the primary and secondary markets function is essential to comprehend the trading of stocks, bonds, and other securities. Navigating and profiting from the capital markets would be considerably more manageable with them. The key differences are:

VC secondaries or secondary markets

Secondary funds are structured by investing themes, just like venture capital firms concentrate on particular sectors (such as IT or healthcare) or investment stages (such as seed, early, development, or late). There are three main categories of secondary funds:

• Limited Partnership (LP) Secondary Funds – These funds buy partnership shares in investment funds.
• Direct Secondary Funds – These funds buy direct portfolios of venture capital investments.
• Hybrid Secondary Funds – These funds buy direct venture capital investments and fund interests.

What is VC secondary market?

If the investee start-up firm has not yet matured enough for an IPO, the market for secondary venture capital transactions offers a means for investors to obtain liquidity. Additionally, it provides divestiture possibilities for projects with poor performance that investors would prefer to exit. We examine how deal flow is directed into the secondary venture capital market by venture capital funds’ opportunistic behavior and liquidity restrictions. Such opportunistic actions result in the strategic withdrawal of venture investors who provide seed funding. These exits increase investors’ available strategies, impacting the agreements’ terms with entrepreneurs.

Functions of VC secondary market

Due to its vital role in supporting industrial development by utilizing enormous untapped potentialities and overcoming risks, venture capital is gaining popularity in various parts of the world. The key responsibilities listed below enable venture capital to fulfill this role:

• New businesses and new ventures of existing ones based on high technology advancements can access funding and expertise through venture capital. It offers start-up funding for breakthroughs already in the planning stage.
• Following the conceptual stage, the venture capitalist creates a business plan (in collaboration with the entrepreneur) that includes information about the market opportunity, the product, the development process, and the funding requirements.
• The venture capitalist must evaluate the inherent qualities of the technological breakthrough at this key stage, make sure it is targeted at a clearly defined market opportunity, and be certain that the management team in charge of operations is capable of achieving the goals of the business plan.

Types of VC secondary market

There are several types of VC secondary markets. However, they can be divided into two main categories: direct secondary sales and structured liquidity schemes.

• Direct Secondary Sales – A private secondary sale, also known as bilateral trade, occurs when an investor directly sells company shares to another investor in a transaction the latter didn’t start or support. This may provide issues for businesses that want more control over their cap table. These transactions don’t have any set disclosures, and companies occasionally give prospective buyers and sellers no information. Unlike a tender offer, when the corporation sets the price, the buyer and seller negotiate the price in this transaction.
• Structured Liquidity Schemes – The typical initiator of a structured liquidity event is firm. There are two kinds: auctions and tender offers.
  • Auctions – The price and volume of a secondary transaction are determined through an auction using supply and demand dynamics.
  • Tender Offers – A tender offer enables several sellers (often workers and early investors) to sell their shares at a predetermined price to a group of investors or back to the company within a stipulated time.

Businesses can make the timing of VC secondary transactions Venture secondary transactions at any time. However, they usually take place 90 days after a primary fundraising round. Secondaries might be an attractive second opportunity for investors excluded from or did not receive their intended allocation in a previous capital raise because regular venture rounds typically have a cap on their size.

Secondary market opportunities for investors

Investors can acquire and sell securities they already possess on the secondary market. The “stock market” is commonly called, yet equities are sold on the primary market when first minted.

• Investors have access to liquidity through secondary markets.
• Investors can examine the prices of various financial products, such as shares and bonds, and their interest rates, through secondary markets.
• During a transaction, the secondary market functions as an intermediary by determining the price of the securities.

Secondary market transactions in cap table

The securities of a corporation, including its common and preferred shares, options, SAFEs, convertible notes, and warrants, are listed in a cap table. It also displays each investor’s current ownership percentage, the value of their stakes, and how much of each security type they own.

Keeping the cap table current is necessary to give investors a clear picture of the company’s journey. Since businesses are constantly changing, their capitalization tables must also be continually updated. Once the business engages in secondary market transactions. The company issues stock options to attract suitable investors. These actions all modify the capitalization table. This allows for a fully-diluted picture of equity ownership. So, Keep your cap table organized, clear, and up-to-date at all times.

Do you need to add a secondary transaction in the cap table?

A private company’s capitalization table must not be made public in the United States. Startups may consider keeping their cap tables confidential, making them available only to serious investors. However, after a firm has gone public, information on its insiders and institutional shareholders will be made public. So, keeping the cap tale updated with the secondary transaction details facilitates smooth business progress.
Also, as the cap table enables entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to decide on current information, it is essential to include secondary transactions.

How can you add your secondary transaction to the cap table?

An expert level of reading, comprehension and the capacity to translate legal texts into figures and formulas are necessary for creating and maintaining an accurate cap table. Making the most informed business decisions possible requires consulting with your legal team. The cap table should have a clean, straightforward layout that shows who owns what shares and how many are still outstanding. The most typical structure lists the type of securities on the X-axis and the names of investors or owners of securities on the Y-axis. Schedule a call with our experts today to better understand and understand its functioning! We are here to assist you.

Maintain your cap table with Eqvista!

In today’s competitive environment, keeping a proper record of all transactions is challenging. Eqvista reduces your burden of recording secondary transactions by providing a step-by-step process to document the same. With the help of Eqvista’s New Secondary Transaction Log Page, you can easily record your secondary transactions. Now it’s time for you to visit our website. For more details, sign up for Eqvista.