TERM PAPER

OF

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND

SERVICESSubmitted to:

(LOVELY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT)MBA –B (3rd Sem.) (Session 2009-2011)Date- 11 Nov 2010

Submitted to: Submitted By:

Mr Bhavdeep Singh Kochar Suman Tiwari Roll No. RT1902A-

22 Reg. No.10904478

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to confer my heartiest thanks to my coordinator of Financial

Institutions and Services, Mr Bhavdeep Singh Kochar for giving me the

opportunity to excel and work in the field of Financial Services, and

especially its practical applications. While preparing my term paper I got to

have an in depth knowledge of practical applications of the theoretical

concepts and definitely the things which I have learned will undoubtedly help

me in future, to analyze many processes going on in our economy.

I would also like to thank all those people who directly or indirectly helped

me in accomplishing this project.

Suman Tiwari

LITERATURE REVIEW

In the last decade, one of the most admired institutions among industrialists and economic policy makers around the world has been the US venture capital industry [Dossani and Kenney 2002]. The sensitivity of venture capital process to government policies and other factors that influence entrepreneurship and innovation was highlighted in a study by the US General Accounting office on behalf of the Joint Economic Committee [Premus 1985]. Venture capital entrepreneurship and innovation have been closely connected. Entrepreneurs have long had ideas that require substantial capital to implement but lacked the funds to finance these projects themselves [Gompers and Lerner 2002]. Venture capital evolved as a response to this felt need. Venture capital represents one solution to financing the high risk, potentially high-reward projects [Gompers and Lerner 2002]. The experience of US, Taiwan and Israel show that technological innovation and the growth of venture capital markets are closely interrelated [Premus 1985]. It has been reported that capital markets overlook small business opportunities because of high information and transaction costs, generally known as capital gap problem [Premus 1985, Smith and Smith 2002]. Though venture capital can meet this gap to some extent, venture capital is a special form of venture financing. In the case of venture capital, the capital market has to be conducive for supporting venture funding. At some level, entrepreneurship occurs in nearby every society, but venture capital can only exist when there is a constant flow of opportunities that have great upside potential [Dossani and Kenney 2002]. This study is a country overview of the venture capital industry supported by a set of case studies.

TOPIC: STUDY ON THE WORKING OF VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

A number of technocrats are seeking to set up shop on their own and capitalize on opportunities.

In the highly dynamic economic climate that surrounds us today, few ‘traditional’ business

models may survive. Countries across the globe are realizing that it is not the conglomerates and

the gigantic corporations that fuel economic growth any more. The essence of any economy

today is the small and medium enterprises. For example, in the US, 50% of the exports are

created by companies with less than 20 employees and only 7% are created by companies with

500 or more employees. This growing trend can be attributed to rapid advances in technology in

the last decade. Knowledge driven industries like InfoTech, health-care, entertainment and

services have become the cynosure of bourses worldwide. In these sectors, it is innovation and

technical capability that are big business-drivers. This is a paradigm shift from the earlier

physical production and ‘economies of scale’ model. However, starting an enterprise is never

easy. There are a number of parameters that contribute to its success or downfall. Experience,

integrity, prudence and a clear understanding of the market are among the sought after qualities

of a promoter. However, there are other factors, which lie beyond the control of the entrepreneur.

Prominent among these is the timely infusion of funds. This is where the venture capitalist comes

in, with money, business sense and a lot more.

WHAT IS VENTURE CAPITAL?

The venture capital investment helps for the growth of innovative entrepreneurships in India.

Venture capital has developed as a result of the need to provide non-conventional, risky finance

to new ventures based on innovative entrepreneurship. Venture capital is an investment in the

form of equity, quasi-equity and sometimes debt - straight or conditional, made in new or

untried concepts, promoted by a technically or professionally qualified entrepreneur. Venture

capital means risk capital. It refers to capital investment, both equity and debt, which carries

substantial risk and uncertainties. The risk envisaged may be very high may be so high as to

result in total loss or very less so as to result in high gains..

THE CONCEPT OF VENTURE CAPITAL

Venture capital means many things to many people. It is in fact nearly impossible to come across

one single definition of the concept.

Jane Koloski Morris , editor of the well known industry publication, Venture Economics,

defines venture capital as 'providing seed, start-up and first stage financing' and also 'funding

the expansion of companies that have already demonstrated their business potential but do not

yet have access to the public securities market or to credit oriented institutional funding sources.

The European Venture Capital Association describes it as risk finance for entrepreneurial

growth oriented companies. It is investment for the medium or long term return seeking to

maximize medium or long term for both parties. It is a partnership with the entrepreneur in

which the investor can add value to the company because of his knowledge, experience and

contact base.

MEANING OF VENTURE CAPITAL

Venture capital is money provided by professionals who invest alongside management in young,

rapidly growing companies that have the potential to develop into significant economic

contributors. Venture capital is an important source of equity for start-up companies.

Professionally managed venture capital firms generally are private partnerships or closely-held

corporations funded by private and public pension funds, endowment funds, foundations,

corporations, wealthy individuals, foreign investors, and the venture capitalists themselves.

Venture capitalists generally:

Finance new and rapidly growing companies

Purchase equity securities

Assist in the development of new products or services

Add value to the company through active participation

Take higher risks with the expectation of higher rewards

Have a long-term orientation

When considering an investment, venture capitalists carefully screen the technical and business

merits of the proposed company. Venture capitalists only invest in a small percentage of the

businesses they review and have a long-term perspective. They also actively work with the

company's management, especially with contacts and strategy formulation.

Venture capitalists mitigate the risk of investing by developing a portfolio of young companies in

a single venture fund. Many times they co-invest with other professional venture capital firms. In

addition, many venture partnerships manage multiple funds simultaneously. For decades, venture

capitalists have nurtured the growth of America's high technology and entrepreneurial

communities resulting in significant job creation, economic growth and international

competitiveness. Companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation, Apple, Federal Express,

Compaq, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Microsoft and Genetech are famous examples of companies

that received venture capital early in their development.

(Source: National Venture Capital Association 1999 Year book)

PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTING

Venture capital investing has grown from a small investment pool in the 1960s and early 1970s

to a mainstream asset class that is a viable and significant part of the institutional and corporate

investment portfolio. Recently, some investors have been referring to venture investing and

buyout investing as "private equity investing." This term can be confusing because some in the

investment industry use the term "private equity" to refer only to buyout fund investing. In any

case, an institutional investor will allocate 2% to 3% of their institutional portfolio for

investment in alternative assets such as private equity or venture capital as part of their overall

asset allocation. Currently, over 50% of investments in venture capital/private equity comes from

institutional public and private pension funds, with the balance coming from endowments,

foundations, insurance companies, banks, individuals and other entities who seek to diversify

their portfolio with this investment class.

WHAT IS A VENTURE CAPITALIST?

The typical person-on-the-street depiction of a venture capitalist is that of a wealthy financier

who wants to fund start-up companies. The perception is that a person who develops a brand new

change-the-world invention needs capital; thus, if they can’t get capital from a bank or from their

own pockets, they enlist the help of a venture capitalist.

In truth, venture capital and private equity firms are pools of capital, typically organized as a

limited partnership that invests in companies that represent the opportunity for a high rate of

return within five to seven years. The venture capitalist may look at several hundred investment

opportunities before investing in only a few selected companies with favorable investment

opportunities. Far from being simply passive financiers, venture capitalists foster growth in

companies through their involvement in the management, strategic marketing and planning of

their investee companies. They are entrepreneurs first and financiers second.

Even individuals may be venture capitalists. In the early days of venture capital investment, in

the 1950s and 1960s, individual investors were the archetypal venture investor. While this type

of individual investment did not totally disappear, the modern venture firm emerged as the

dominant venture investment vehicle. However, in the last few years, individuals have again

become a potent and increasingly larger part of the early stage start-up venture life cycle. These

"angel investors" will mentor a company and provide needed capital and expertise to help

develop companies. Angel investors may either be wealthy people with management expertise or

retired business men and women who seek the opportunity for first-hand business development.

FACTOR TO BE CONSIDERED BY VENTURE CAPITALIST IN SELECTION OF INVESTMENT PROPOSAL

There are basically four key elements in financing of ventures which are studied in depth by the

venture capitalists. These are:

1. Management: The strength, expertise & unity of the key people on the board bring significant

credibility to the company. The members are to be mature, experienced possessing working

knowledge of business and capable of taking potentially high risks.

2. Potential for Capital Gain: : An above average rate of return of about 30 - 40% is required by

venture capitalists. The rate of return also depends upon the stage of the business cycle where

funds are being deployed. Earlier the stage, higher is the risk and hence the return.

3. Realistic Financial Requirement and Projections: : The venture capitalist requires a realistic

view about the present health of the organization as well as future projections regarding scope,

nature and performance of the company in terms of scale of operations, operating profit and

further costs related to product development through Research & Development.

4. Owner's Financial Stake: : The financial resources owned & committed by the entrepreneur/

owner in the business including the funds invested by family, friends and relatives play a very

important role in increasing the viability of the business. It is an important avenue where the

venture capitalist keeps an open eye.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The concept of venture capital is not new. Venture capitalists often relate the story of

Christopher Columbus. In the fifteenth century, he sought to travel westwards instead of

eastwards from Europe and so planned to reach India. His far-fetched idea did not find favor

with the King of Portugal, who refused to finance him. Finally, Queen Isabella of Spain decided

to fund him and the voyages of Christopher Columbus are now empanelled in history.

The modern venture capital industry began taking shape in the post – World War II years. It is

often said that people decide to become entrepreneurs because they see role models in other

people who have become successful entrepreneurs. Much the same thing can be said about

venture capitalists. The earliest members of the organized venture capital industry had several

role models, including these three:

American Research and Development Corporation, formed in 1946, whose biggest success

was Digital Equipment. The founder of ARD was General Georges Doroit, a French-born

military man who is considered "the father of venture capital." In the 1950s, he taught at the

Harvard Business School. His lectures on the importance of risk capital were considered quirky

by the rest of the faculty, who concentrated on conventional corporate management.

J.H. Whitney & Co also formed in 1946, one of whose early hits was Minute Maid juice. Jock

Whitney is considered one of the industry’s founders.

The Rockefeller Family, and in particular, L S Rockefeller, one of whose earliest investments

was in Eastern Airlines, which is now defunct but was one of the earliest commercial airlines.

The Second World War produced an abundance of technological innovation, primarily with

military applications. They include, for example, some of the earliest work on micro circuitry.

Indeed, J.H. Whitney’s investment in Minute Maid was intended to commercialize an orange

juice concentrate that had been developed to provide nourishment for troops in the field.

In the mid-1950s, the U.S. federal government wanted to speed the development of advanced

technologies. In 1957, the Federal Reserve System conducted a study that concluded that a

shortage of entrepreneurial financing was a chief obstacle to the development of what it called

"entrepreneurial businesses." As a response this a number of Small Business Investment

Companies (SBIC) were established to "leverage" their private capital by borrowing from the

federal government at below-market interest rates. Soon commercial banks were allowed to form

SBICs and within four years, nearly 600 SBICs were in operation.

At the same time a number of venture capital firms were forming private partnerships outside the

SBIC format. These partnerships added to the venture capitalist’s toolkit, by offering a degree of

flexibility that SBICs lack. Within a decade, private venture capital partnerships passed SBICs in

total capital under management.

The 1960s saw a tremendous bull IPO market that allowed venture capital firms to demonstrate

their ability to create companies and produce huge investment returns. For example, when

Digital Equipment went public in 1968 it provided ARD with 101% annualized Return on

Investment (ROI). The US$70,000 Digital invested to start the company in 1959 had a market

value of US$37mn. As a result, venture capital became a hot market, particularly for wealthy

individuals and families. However, it was still considered too risky for institutional investors.

In the 1970s, though, venture capital suffered a double-whammy. First, a red-hot IPO market

brought over 1,000 venture-backed companies to market in 1968; the public markets went into a

seven-year slump. There were a lot of disappointed stock market investors and a lot of

disappointed venture capital investors too. Then in 1974, after Congress legislation against the

abuse of pension fund money, all high-risk investment of these funds was halted. As a result of

poor public market and the pension fund legislation, venture capital fund raising hit rock bottom

in 1975.

The late 1980s marked the transition of the primary source of venture capital funds from wealthy

individuals and families to endowment, pension and other institutional funds. The surge in

capital in the 1980s had predictable results. Returns on venture capital investments plunged.

Many investors went into the funds anticipating returns of 30% or higher. That was probably an

unrealistic expectation to begin with. The consensus today is that private equity investments

generally should give the investor an internal rate of return something to the order of 15% to

25%, depending upon the degree of risk the firm is taking.

However, by 1990, the average long-term return on venture capital funds fell below 8%, leading

to yet another downturn in venture funding. Disappointed families and institutions withdrew

from venture investing in droves in the 1989-91 periods. The economic recovery and the IPO

boom of 1991-94 have gone a long way towards reversing the trend in both private equity

investment performance and partnership commitments.

In 1998, the venture capital industry in the United States continued its seventh straight year of

growth. It raised US$25bn in committed capital for investments by venture firms, who invested

over US$16bn into domestic growth companies US firms have traditionally been the biggest

participants in venture deals, but non-US venture investment is growing. In India, venture

funding more than doubled from $420 million in 2002 to almost $1 billion in 2003. For the first

half of 2004, venture capital investment rose 32% from 2003.

VENTURE CAPITAL IN INDIA

Venture capital was introduced in India in mid eighties by All India Financial Institutions with

the inauguration of Risk Capital Foundation (RCF) sponsored by IFCI with a view to encourage

the technologists and the professional to promote new industries. Consequently the government

of India promoted the venture capital during 1986-87 by creating a venture capital fund in the

context of structural development and growth of small-scale business enterprises. Since then

several venture capital firms/funds (VCFs) are incorporated by Financial Institutions (FIs),

Public Sector Banks (PSBs), and Private Banks and Private Financial companies.

The Indian Venture Capital Industry (IVCI) is just about a decade old industry as

compared to that in Europe and US. In this short span it has nurtured close to one thousand

ventures, mostly in SME segment and has supported building technocrat/professionals all

through. The VC industry, through its investment in high growth companies as well as

companies adopting newer technologies backed by first generation entrepreneurs, has made a

substantial contribution to economy. In India, however, the potential of venture capital

investments is yet to be fully realized. There are around thirty venture capital funds, which have

garnered over Rs. 5000 Crores. The venture capital investments in India at Rs. 1000.05 crore as

in 1997, representing 0.1 percent of GDP, as compared to 5.5 per cent in countries such as Hong

Kong.

INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY

Venture capitalists can be generalists, investing in various industry sectors, or various geographic

locations, or various stages of a company’s life. Alternatively, they may be specialists in one or

two industry sectors, or may seek to invest in only a localized geographic area.

Not all venture capitalists invest in "start-ups." While venture firms will invest in companies that

are in their initial start-up modes, venture capitalists will also invest in companies at various

stages of the business life cycle. A venture capitalist may invest before there is a real product or

company organized (so called "seed investing"), or may provide capital to start up a company in

its first or second stages of development known as "early stage investing." Also, the venture

capitalist may provide needed financing to help a company grow beyond a critical mass to

become more successful ("expansion stage financing").

The venture capitalist may invest in a company throughout the company’s life cycle and

therefore some funds focus on later stage investing by providing financing to help the company

grow to a critical mass to attract public financing through a stock offering. Alternatively, the

venture capitalist may help the company attract a merger or acquisition with another company by

providing liquidity and exit for the company’s founders.

At the other end of the spectrum, some venture funds specialize in the acquisition, turnaround or

recapitalization of public and private companies that represent favorable investment

opportunities.

There are venture funds that will be broadly diversified and will invest in companies in various

industry sectors as diverse as semiconductors, software, retailing and restaurants and others that

may be specialists in only one technology.

While high technology investment makes up most of the venture investing in the U.S., and the

venture industry gets a lot of attention for its high technology investments, venture capitalists

also invest in companies such as construction, industrial products, business services, etc. There

are several firms that have specialized in retail company investment and others that have a focus

in investing only in "socially responsible" start-up endeavors.

The basic principal underlying venture capital – invest in high-risk projects with the anticipation

of high returns. These funds are then invested in several fledging enterprises, which require

funding, but are unable to access it through the conventional sources such as banks and financial

institutions. Typically first generation entrepreneurs start such enterprises. Such enterprises

generally do not have any major collateral to offer as security, hence banks and financial

institutions are averse to funding them. Venture capital funding may be by way of investment in

the equity of the new enterprise or a combination of debt and equity, though equity is the most

preferred route.

To conclude, a venture financier is one who funds a startup company, in most cases promoted by

a first generation technocrat promoter with equity. A venture capitalist is not a lender, but an

equity partner. He cannot survive on minimalism. He is driven by maximization: wealth

maximization. Venture capitalists are sources of expertise for the companies they finance. Exit is

preferably through listing on stock exchanges. This method has been extremely successful in

USA, and venture funds have been credited with the success of technology companies in Silicon

Valley. The entire technology industry thrives on it.

LENGTH OF INVESTMENT

Venture capitalists will help companies grow, but they eventually seek to exit the investment in

three to seven years. An early stage investment make take seven to ten years to mature, while a

later stage investment many only take a few years, so the appetite for the investment life cycle

must be congruent with the limited partnerships’ appetite for liquidity. The venture investment is

neither a short term nor a liquid investment, but an investment that must be made with careful

diligence and expertise.

STAGES OF VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING

The Venture Capital funding varies across the different stages of growth of a firm. The various

stages are:

1. Pre seed Stage: : Here, a relatively small amount of capital is provided to an entrepreneur to

conceive and market a potential idea having good future prospects. The funded work also

involves product development to some extent.

2. Seed Stage: : Financing is provided to complete product development and commence initial

marketing formalities.

3. Early Stage / First Stage: : Finance is provided to companies to initiate commercial

manufacturing and sales.

4. Second Stage: : In the Second Stage of Financing working capital is provided for the

expansion of the company in terms of growing accounts receivable and inventory.

5. Third Stage: Funds provided for major expansion of a company having increasing sales

volume. This stage is met when the firm crosses the break- even point.

6. Bridge / Mezzanine Financing or Later Stage Financing: : Bridge / Mezzanine Financing or

Later Stage Financing is financing a company just before its IPO (Initial Public Offer). Often,

bridge finance is structured so that it can be repaid, from the proceeds of a public offering.

METHODS OF VENTURE FINANCING

Venture capital is typically available in three forms in India, they are:

Equity : All VCFs in India provide equity but generally their contribution does not

exceed 49 percent of the total equity capital. Thus, the effective control and majority

ownership of the firm remains with the entrepreneur. They buy shares of an enterprise

with an intention to ultimately sell them off to make capital gains.

Conditional Loan : It is repayable in the form of a royalty after the venture is able to

generate sales. No interest is paid on such loans. In India, VCFs charge royalty ranging

between 2 to 15 percent; actual rate depends on other factors of the venture such as

gestation period, cost-flow patterns, riskiness and other factors of the enterprise.

Income Note : It is a hybrid security which combines the features of both conventional

loan and conditional loan. The entrepreneur has to pay both interest and royalty on sales,

but at substantially low rates.

Other Financing Methods : A few venture capitalists, particularly in the private sector,

have started introducing innovative financial securities like participating debentures,

introduced by TCFC is an example.

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND OPERATION

Venture capitalists are very selective in deciding what to invest in. A common figure is that they

invest only in about one in four hundred ventures presented to them.

They are only interested in ventures with high growth potential. Only ventures with high growth

potential are capable of providing the return that venture capitalists expect, and structure their

businesses to expect. Because many businesses cannot create the growth required having an exit

event within the required timeframe, venture capital is not suitable for everyone.

Venture capitalists usually expect to be able to assign personnel to key management positions

and also to obtain one or more seats on the company's board of directors. This is to put people in

place, a phrase that has sometimes quite unfortunate implications as it was used in many

accounting scandals to refer to a strategy of placing incompetent or easily bypassed individuals

in positions of due diligence and formal legal responsibility, enabling others to rob stockholders

blind. Only a tiny portion of venture capitalists, however, have been found liable in the large

scale frauds that rocked American (mostly) finance in 2000 and 2001.

Venture capitalists expect to be able to sell their stock, warrants, options, convertibles, or other

forms of equity in three to ten years: this is referred to as harvesting. Venture capitalists know

that not all their investments will pay-off. The failure rate of investments can be high; anywhere

from 20% to 90% of the enterprises funded fail to return the invested capital.

Many venture capitalists try to mitigate this problem through diversification. They invest in

companies in different industries and different countries so that the systematic risk of their total

portfolio is reduced. Others concentrate their investments in the industry that they are familiar

with. In either case, they work on the assumption that for every ten investments they make, two

will be failures, two will be successful, and six will be marginally successful. They expect that

the two successes will pay for the time given to, and risk exposure of the other eight. In good

times, the funds that do succeed may offer returns of 300 to 1000% to investors.

Venture capital partners (also known as "venture capitalists" or "VCs") may be former chief

executives at firms similar to those which the partnership funds. Investors in venture capital

funds are typically large institutions with large amounts of available capital, such as state and

private pension funds, university endowments, insurance companies and pooled investment

vehicles.

Most venture capital funds have a fixed life of ten years—this model was pioneered by some of

the most successful funds in Silicon Valley through the 1980s to invest in technological trends

broadly but only during their period of ascendance, to cut exposure to management and

marketing risks of any individual firm or its product.

In such a fund, the investors have a fixed commitment to the fund that is "called down" by the

VCs over time as the fund makes its investments. In a typical venture capital fund, the VCs

receive an annual "management fee" equal to 2% of the committed capital to the fund and 20%

of the net profits of the fund. Because a fund may run out of capital prior to the end of its life,

larger VCs usually have several overlapping funds at the same time—this lets the larger firm

keep specialists in all stage of the development of firms almost constantly engaged. Smaller

firms tend to thrive or fail with their initial industry contacts—by the time the fund cashes out, an

entirely new generation of technologies and people is ascending, whom they do not know well,

and so it is prudent to re-assess and shift industries or personnel rather than attempt to simply

invest more in the industry or people it already knows.

ASSESSING VENTURE CAPITAL

Venture funds, both domestic and offshore, have been around in India for some years now.

However it is only in the past 12 to 18 months, they have come into the limelight. The rejection

ratio is very high, about 10 in 100 get beyond pre evaluation stage, and 1 gets funded.

Venture capital funds are broadly of two kinds - generalists or specialists. It is critical for the

company to access the right type of fund, ie who can add value. This backing is invaluable as

focused/specialized funds open doors, assist in future rounds and help in strategy. Hence, it is

important to choose the right venture capitalist.

The standard parameters used by venture capitalists are very similar to any investment decision.

The only difference being exit. If one buys a listed security, one can exit at a price but with an

unlisted security, exit becomes difficult. The key factors which they look for in

THE MANAGEMENT

Most businesses are people driven, with success or failure depending on the performance of the

team. It is important to distinguish the entrepreneur from the professional management team. The

value of the idea, the vision, putting the team together, getting the funding in place is amongst

others, some key aspects of the role of the entrepreneur. Venture capitalists will insist on a

professional team coming in, including a CEO to execute the idea. One-man armies are passe.

Integrity and commitment are attributes sought for. The venture capitalist can provide the

strategic vision, but the team executes it. As a famous Silicon Valley saying goes "Success is

execution, strategy is a dream".

THE IDEA

The idea and its potential for commercialization are critical. Venture funds look for a scalable

model, at a country or a regional level. Otherwise the entire game would be reduced to a

manpower or machine multiplication exercise. For example, it is very easy for Hindustan Lever

to double sales of Liril - a soap without incremental capex, while Gujarat Ambuja needs to spend

at least Rs4bn before it can increase sales by 1mn ton. Distinctive competitive advantages must

exist in the form of scale, technology, brands, distribution, etc which will make it difficult for

competition to enter.

VALUATION

All investment decisions are sensitive to this. An old stock market saying "Every stock is a buy

at a price and vice versa". Most deals fail because of valuation expectation mismatch. In India,

while calculating returns, venture capital funds will take into account issues like rupee

depreciation, political instability, which adds to the risk premia, thus suppressing valuations.

Linked to valuation is the stake, which the fund takes. In India, entrepreneurs are still

uncomfortable with the venture capital "taking control" in a seed stage project.

EXIT

Without exit, gains cannot be booked. Exit may be in the form of a strategic sale or/and IPO.

Taxation issues come up at the time. Any fund would discuss all exit options before closing a

deal. Sometimes, the fund insists on a buy back clause to ensure an exit.

PORTFOLIO BALANCING

Most venture funds try and achieve portfolio balancing as they invest in different stages of the

company life cycle. For example, a venture capital has invested in a portfolio of companies

predominantly at seed stage; they will focus on expansion stage projects for future investments to

balance the investment portfolio. This would enable them to have a phased exit. In summary,

venture capital funds go through a certain due diligence to finalize the deal. This includes

evaluation of the management team, strategy, execution and commercialization plans. This is

supplemented by legal and accounting due diligence, typically carried out by an external agency.

In India, the entire process takes about 6 months. Entrepreneurs are advised to keep that in mind

before looking to raise funds. The actual cash inflow might get delayed because of regulatory

issues. It is interesting to note that in USA, at times angels write checks across the table.

FINANCING OPTIONS IN GENERAL

The possibility of raising a substantial part of project finances in India through both equity and

debt instruments are among the key advantages of investing in India.

The Indian banking system has shown remarkable growth over the last two decades. The rapid

growth and increasing complexity of the financial markets, especially the capital market have

brought about measures for further development and improvement in the working of these

markets. Banks and development financial institutions led by ICICI, IDBI and IFCI were

providers of term loans for funding projects. The options were limited to conventional

businesses, i.e. manufacturing centric. Services sector was ignored because of the "collateral"

issue.

Equity was raised from the capital markets using the IPO route. The bull markets of the 90s,

fuelled by Harshad Mehta and the FIIs, ensured that (ad) venture capital was easily available.

Manufacturing companies exploited this to the full.

The services sector was ignored, like software, media, etc. Lack of understanding of these sectors

was also responsible for the same. If we look back to 1991 or even 1992, the situation as regards

financial outlay available to Indian software companies was poor. Most software companies

found it extremely difficult to source seed capital, working capital or even venture capital.

Most software companies started off undercapitalized, and had to rely on loans or overdraft

facilities to provide working capital. This approach forced them to generate revenue in the short

term, rather than investing in product development. The situation fortunately has changed.

CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK

THE VENTURE CAPITAL PROCESSThe Venture Capital Investment Process:

The venture capital activity is a sequential process involving the following six steps.

- Deal origination- Screening- Due diligence Evaluation

- Deal structuring- Post-investment activity- Exit

Venture Capital Investment Process

o Deal origination:

In generating a deal flow, the VC investor creates a pipeline of deals or investment opportunities

that he would consider for investing in. Deal may originate in various ways. referral system,

active search system, and intermediaries. Referral system is an important source of deals. Deals

may be referred to VCFs by their parent organizations, trade partners, industry associations,

friends etc. Another deal flow is active search through networks, trade fairs, conferences,

seminars, foreign visits etc. Intermediaries is used by venture capitalists in developed countries

like USA, is certain intermediaries who match VCFs and the potential entrepreneurs.

o Screening:

VCFs, before going for an in-depth analysis, carry out initial screening of all projects on the

basis of some broad criteria. For example, the screening process may limit projects to areas in

which the venture capitalist is familiar in terms of technology, or product, or market scope. The

size of investment, geographical location and stage of financing could also be used as the broad

screening criteria.

o Due Diligence:

Due diligence is the industry jargon for all the activities that are associated with evaluating an

investment proposal. The venture capitalists evaluate the quality of entrepreneur before

appraising the characteristics of the product, market or technology. Most venture capitalists ask

for a business plan to make an assessment of the possible risk and return on the venture. Business

plan contains detailed information about the proposed venture. The evaluation of ventures by

VCFs in India includes;

o Preliminary evaluation: The applicant required to provide a brief profile of the proposed

venture to establish prima facie eligibility.

o Detailed evaluation : Once the preliminary evaluation is over, the proposal is evaluated in

greater detail. VCFs in India expect the entrepreneur to have: - Integrity, long-term vision,

urge to grow, managerial skills, commercial orientation.

VCFs in India also make the risk analysis of the proposed projects which includes: Product risk,

Market risk, Technological risk and Entrepreneurial risk. The final decision is taken in terms of

the expected risk-return trade-off as shown in Figure.

o Deal Structuring: Structuring refers to putting together the financial aspects of the deal

and negotiating with the entrepreneurs to accept a venture capital’s proposal and finally

closing the deal. To do a good job in structuring, one needs to be knowledgeable in areas

of accounting, cash flow, finance, legal and taxation. Also the structure should take into

consideration the various commercial issues (ie what the entrepreneur wants and what the

venture capital would require protecting the investment). Documentation refers to the

legal aspects of the paperwork in putting the deal together. The instruments to be used in

structuring deals are many and varied. The objective in selecting the instrument would be

to maximize (or optimize) venture capital’s returns/protection and yet satisfies the

entrepreneur’s requirements.

The instruments could be as follows:

Instrument Issues

Loan Clean vs secured

Interest bearing vs. non- interest bearing

convertible vs. one with features (warrants)

1st Charge, 2nd Charge,

loan vs. loan stock

Maturity

Preference shares redeemable (conditions under Company Act)

Participating

par value

nominal shares

Warrants exercise price, expiry period

Common shares new or vendor shares

par value

partially-paid shares

In India, straight equity and convertibles are popular and commonly used. Nowadays, warrants

are issued as a tool to bring down pricing.

A variation that was first used by PACT and TDICI was "royalty on sales". Under this, the

company was given a conditional loan. If the project was successful, the company had to pay a

% age of sales as royalty and if it failed then the amount was written off. In structuring a deal, it

is important to listen to what the entrepreneur wants, but the venture capital comes up with his

own solution. Even for the proposed investment amount, the venture capital decides whether or

not the amount requested, is appropriate and consistent with the risk level of the investment. The

risks should be analyzed, taking into consideration the stage at which the company is in and

other factors relating to the project. (eg exit problems, etc).

o Post Investment Activities :

Once the deal has been structured and agreement finalized, the venture capitalist generally

assumes the role of a partner and collaborator. He also gets involved in shaping of the direction

of the venture. The degree of the venture capitalist's involvement depends on his policy. It may

not, however, be desirable for a venture capitalist to get involved in the day-to-day operation of

the venture. If a financial or managerial crisis occurs, the venture capitalist may intervene, and

even install a new management team.

o Exit:

Venture capitalists generally want to cash-out their gains in five to ten years after the initial

investment. They play a positive role in directing the company towards particular exit routes. A

venture may exist in one of the following ways:

1. Initial Public Offerings (IPO’s)

2. Acquisition by another company

3. Purchase of the venture capitalists shares by the promoter,

4. Purchase of the venture capitalists share by an outsider.

PLAYERS IN VENTURE CAPITAL INDUSTRY

VENTURE CAPITAL INDUSTRY LIFE CYCLE IN INDIA

From the industry life cycle we can know in which stage venture capital are standing. On the basis of this management can make future strategies of their business.

GROWTH OF VENTURE CAPITAL IN INDIA

PROBLEMS OF VENTURE CAPITAL IN INDIA

One can ask why venture funding is so successful in USA and faced a number of problems in

India. The biggest problem was a mindset change from "collateral funding" to high risk high

return funding. Most of the pioneers in the industry were people with credit background and

exposure to manufacturing industries. Exposure to fast growing intellectual property business

and services sector was almost zero. Moreover VCF is in its nascent stages in India. The

emerging scenario of global competitiveness has put an immense pressure on the industrial

sector to improve the quality level with minimization of cost of products by making use of latest

technological skills. The implication is to obtain adequate financing along with the necessary hi-

tech equipments to produce an innovative product which can succeed and grow in the present

market condition. Unfortunately, our country lacks on both fronts. The necessary capital can be

obtained from the venture capital firms who expect an above average rate of return on the

investment. The financing firms expect a sound, experienced, mature and capable management

team of the company being financed. Since the innovative project involves a higher risk, there is

an expectation of higher returns from the project. The payback period is also generally high (5 -

7 years).

The other issues that led to such a situation include:

License Raj and The IPO Boom

Till early 90s, under the license raj regime, only commodity centric businesses thrived in a

deficit situation. To fund a cement plant, venture capital is not needed. What was needed was

ability to get a license and then get the project funded by the banks and DFIs. In most cases, the

promoters were well-established industrial houses, with no apparent need for funds. Most of

these entities were capable of raising funds from conventional sources, including term loans from

institutions and equity markets.

Scalability

The Indian software segment has recorded an impressive growth over the last few years and

earns large revenues from its export earnings, yet our share in the global market is less than 1 per

cent. Within the software industry, the value chain ranges from body shopping at the bottom to

strategic consulting at the top. Higher value addition and profitability as well as significant

market presence take place at the higher end of the value chain. If the industry has to grow

further and survive the flux it would only be through innovation. For any venture idea to succeed

there should be a product that has a growing market with a scalable business model. The IT

industry (which is most suited for venture funding because of its "ideas" nature) in India till

recently had a service centric business model. Products developed for Indian markets lack scale.

Mindsets

Venture capital as an activity was virtually non-existent in India. Most venture capital companies

want to provide capital on a secured debt basis, to established businesses with profitable

operating histories. Most of the venture capital units were offshoots of financial institutions and

banks and the lending mindset continued. True venture capital is capital that is used to help

launch products and ideas of tomorrow. Abroad, this problem is solved by the presence of `angel

investors’. They are typically wealthy individuals who not only provide venture finance but also

help entrepreneurs to shape their business and make their venture successful.

Returns, Taxes and Regulations

There is a multiplicity of regulators like SEBI and RBI. Domestic venture funds are set up under

the Indian Trusts Act of 1882 as per SEBI guidelines, while offshore funds routed through

Mauritius follow RBI guidelines. Abroad, such funds are made under the Limited Partnership

Act, which brings advantages in terms of taxation. The government must allow pension funds

and insurance companies to invest in venture capitals as in USA where corporate contributions to

venture funds are large.

Exit

The exit routes available to the venture capitalists were restricted to the IPO route. Before

deregulation, pricing was dependent on the erstwhile CCI regulations. In general, all issues were

under priced. Even now SEBI guidelines make it difficult for pricing issues for an easy exit.

Given the failure of the OTCEI and the revised guidelines, small companies could not hope for a

BSE/ NSE listing. Given the dull market for mergers and acquisitions, strategic sale was also not

available.

Valuation

The recent phenomenon is valuation mismatches. Thanks to the software boom, most promoters

have sky high valuation expectations. Given this, it is difficult for deals to reach financial closure

as promoters do not agree to a valuation. This coupled with the fancy for software stocks in the

bourses means that most companies are proponing their IPO’s. Consequently, the number and

quality of deals available to the venture funds gets reduced

SOME OTHER MAJOR PROBLEMS FACING BY VENTURE CAPITALISTS IN INDIA ARE:

a. Requirement of an experienced management team.

b. Requirement of an above average rate of return on investment.

Longer payback period.

c. Uncertainty regarding the success of the product in the market.

d. Questions regarding the infrastructure details of production like plant location,

accessibility, relationship with the suppliers and creditors, transportation facilities, labour

availability etc.

e. The category of potential customers and hence the packaging and pricing details of the

product.

f. The size of the market.

g. Major competitors and their market share.

h. Skills and Training required and the cost of training.

i. Financial considerations like return on capital employed (ROCE), cost of the project, the

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the project, total amount of funds required, ratio of

owners investment (personnel funds of the entrepreneur), borrowed capital, mortgage

loans etc. in the capital employed.

PROSPECTS OF VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING

With the advent of liberalization, India has been showing remarkable growth in the economy in

the past 10 - 12 years. The government is promoting growth in capacity utilization of available

and acquired resources and hence entrepreneurship development, by liberalizing norms regarding

venture capital. While only eight domestic venture capital funds were registered with SEBI

during 1996-1998, 14 funds have already been registered in 1999-2000. Institutional interest is

growing and foreign venture investments are also on the rise. Many state governments have also

set up venture capital funds for the IT sector in partnership with the local state financial

institutions and SIDBI. These include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Kerala and Tamil

Nadu.

In the year 2000, the finance ministry announced the liberalization of tax treatment for venture

capital funds to promote them & to increase job creation. This is expected to give a strong boost

to the non resident Indians located in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere to invest some of their

capital, knowledge and enterprise in these ventures. A Bangalore based media company, Gray

cell Ltd., has recently obtained VC investment totaling about $ 1.7 mn. The company would be

creating and marketing branded web based consumer products in the near future.

The following points can be considered as the harbingers of VC financing in India : -

a. Existence of a globally competitive high technology.b. Globally competitive human resource capital.

c. Second Largest English speaking, scientific & technical manpower in the world.

d. Vast pool of existing and ongoing scientific and technical research carried by large

number of research laboratories.

e. Initiatives taken by the Government in formulating policies to encourage investors and

entrepreneurs.

f. Initiatives of the SEBI to develop a strong and vibrant capital market giving the adequate

liquidity and flexibility for investors for entry and exit.

In a recent survey it has been shown that the VC investments in India's I.T. - Software and services

sector (including dot com companies)- have grown from US $ 150 million in 1998 to over US$

1200 million in 2008. The credit can be given to setting up of a National Venture Capital Fund for

the Software and I.T. Industry (NFSIT) in association with various financial institutions of Small

Industries and Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The facts reveal that VC disbursements as on

September 30, 2002 made by NFSIT totaled Rs 254.36 mn.

FINDINGS

During the preparation of my report I have analyzed many things which are following:-

A number of people in India feel that financial institution are not only conservatives but they

also have a bias for foreign technology & they do not trust on the abilities of entrepreneurs.

Some venture fails due to few exit options. Teams are ignorant of international standards.

The team usually a two or three man team. It does not possess the required depth in top

management. The team is often found to have technical skills but does not possess the overall

organization building skills team is often short sited.

Venture capitalists in India consider the entrepreneur’s integrity &urge to grow as the most

critical aspect or venture evaluation.

SUGGESTIONS

1. The investment should be in turnaround stage. Since there are many sick industries in India

and the number is growing each year, the venture capitalists that have specialized knowledge

in management can help sick industries. It would also be highly profitable if the venture

capitalist replace management either good ones in the sick industries.

2. It is recommended that the venture capitalists should retain their basic feature that is tasking

high risk. The present situation may compel venture capitalists to opt for less risky

opportunities but is against the spirit of venture capitalism. The established fact is big gains

are possible in high risk projects.

3. There should be a greater role for the venture capitalists in the promotion of

entrepreneurship. The Venture capitalists should promote entrepreneur forums, clubs and

institutions of learning to enhance the quality of entrepreneurship.

CONCLUSION

Venture capital can play a more innovation and development role in a developing country like

India. It could help the rehabilitation of sick unit through people with ideas and turnaround

management skill. A large number of small enterprises in India because sick unit even before the

commencement of production of production. Venture capitalist could also be in line with the

developments taking place in their parent companies.

Yet another area where can play a significant role in developing countries is the service sector

including tourism, publishing, healthcare etc. they could also provide financial assistance to

people coming out of the universities, technical institutes etc. who wish to start their own venture

with or without high-tech content, but involving high risk. This would encourage the

entrepreneurial spirit. It is not only initial funding which is need from the venture capitalists, but

they should also simultaneously provide management and marketing expertise-a real critical

aspect of venture capitalists, but they also simultaneously provide management and marketing

expertise-a real critical aspect of venture capital in developing countries. Which can improve

their effectiveness by setting up venture capital cell in R&D and other scientific generation,

providing syndicated or consortium financing and acing as business incubators.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. JOURNALS

APPLIED FINANCE VENTURE STAGE INVESTMENT PREFERENCE IN

INDIA, VINAY KUMAR, MAY 2004.

ICFAI JOURNAL OF APPLIED FINANCE MAY- JUNE

VIKALPA VOLULMLE 28, APRI L- JUNE 2003

ICFAI JOURNAL OF APPLIED FINANCE, JULY- AUG.

2. BOOKS

I.M. Panday- venture capital development process in India

I. M. Panday- venture capital the Indian experience,

3. VARIOUS NEWS PAPERS

4. INTERNET

www.indiainfoline.com

www.vcapital.com

www.investopedia.com

www.vcinstitute.com