Cross-Border Venture Capital Investments: An Analysis of Exit Outcomes for Canadian Firms

Abstract

Foreign investors are making larger investments in the Canadian venture capital (VC) market than Canadian investors, and Canadian VC exits are primarily M&As (Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, various years). This research provides a joint exploration of foreign venture capitalists’ (VCs) participation in Canada and outcomes of VC exits. Using binary logistic regression and multivariate linear regression, this paper reports that the presence of foreign VCs in the Canadian market is accompanied with mixed exit-related outcomes. On the one hand, foreign VCs’ participation is associated with higher likelihood of a successful exit through initial public offering (IPO), greater capital availability, and shorter time to exit. On the other hand, the relation between foreign VCs’ participation and lower purchaser price per dollar of VC investment in exit through merger and acquisition (M&A) raises concerns about the monetary returns to Canadian investee firms and Canadian syndicate VCs. These empirical findings will help to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the Canadian VC market, as well as adding to the growing body of literature on cross- border VC investment.