Where do we go? VC firm heterogeneity and the exit routes of newly listed high-tech firms

In this paper, we study how the support of heterogeneous venture capital firms (VCs), that is independent venture capital firms (IVCs), bank-affiliated venture capital firms (BVCs), and corporate venture capital firms (CVCs), shapes the delisting route of companies through business failure and merger and acquisitions (MandAs), while distinguishing between European MandAs and extra-EU MandAs after the initial public offering (IPO). We find that the influence of the VCs in the firms' post-IPO delisting varies according to the mode of delisting and the type of venture capitalist. In particular, we find that the presence of leading IVC and BVC investments before IPO is related to a lower likelihood of exiting the stock market through business failure but does not significantly affect the likelihood of MandAs. In contrast, the presence of CVC investors is related to a higher likelihood of delisting through extra-EU MandAs.