Determinants of required returns in venture capital investments: A five-country study

Abstract

Using 2 complementary theoretical perspectives, this paper develops hypotheses regarding the determinants of the return required by venture capitalists and tests this on a sample of over 200 venture capital companies (VCCs) located in 5 countries. It finds that early-stage specialists required a significantly higher return than other VCCs when investing in later-stage ventures. It also finds that acquisition/buyout specialists require a significantly lower return than other VCCs when investing in expansion companies.