Ahlgreen y los préstamos participativos

Ross Ahlgreen, fundador de una de las principales firmas de venture debt, aporta en la última edición de la revista Real Deals unas cuantas reflexiones adicionales sobre el tema de préstamos participativos que comentábamos hace unas pocas semanas.

Adjunto algunas de las preguntas y respuestas más interesantes, matizando que los prestamos participativos habituales en España tienen varias diferencias significativas respecto al modelo americano.

How exactly are venture debt deals structured?

They are high-yield debt with an equity kicker as standard, somewhere between 10 and 16% dilution, usually in the form of warrants. The term is usually 36 months with a full payout – the debt starts paying back on an equal monthly basis when money is drawn. The equity kicker is an important part of the model, providing about 50% of the fund’s overall return to our investors

What covenants are attached to venture debt?

(…) It almost always avoids complex funding milestones and default triggers designed to “get out” at the first sign of distress

Are there any other advantages compared with raising additional equity?

Speed is one (…) By leveraging the existing VC due diligence, venture debt can take less than half the time and a fraction of the management attention to close. Also, from the VC’0s perspective, unlike new venture capital partners debt does not require a board seat, leaving the existing board structures intact (…)

Why is the venture debt so much less prominent in Europe than the US?

(…) It is also partly a question of size. I the US there are billion-dollar companies that were VC-backed, and so venture debt investors earned big tickets. In Europe the average exit is probably closer to 150 to 200 million EUR.

Por cierto, la revista nos la regalaron en la EBAN 2009 donde tuve la ocasión de hablar con Alan Barrell y hacerle la pregunta que se me quedó en el tintero en el anterior post, en efecto no conocía la diferencia entre un banco y una caja.