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????“如果披露未上市的、獲風投支持公司的財務數據，會毀了它們。” ????這是2002年一位風險投資人對我說的話，當時圍繞公共養老金體系是否應披露其風險投資和私募股權投資的具體回報率數據有一場爭論。事實上當時根本沒人認為應進行組合層面的披露，但風險資本時常抬出“滑坡論”(slippery slope)，因為他們害怕披露不利的回報率數據(即用所投資公司的良好現狀掩蓋投資者尷尬)。 ????快進到9年后的今天，似乎相應組合的數據有望披露。但披露將是有限的，而且是基于自愿。 ????我的意思是：目前風險資本達成的共識是，創始人應在退出前獲得部分股份流動性，而且這對公司是有益的(當你無須擔心買車款時，更能集中精力工作)。當然，這并非適用于所有公司，但適用于那些一段時間以來已有營收的公司。 ????不過，問題在于絕大部分此類公司發現很難利用被大肆宣揚的二級市場——在這個市場中占據主導地位的是面向消費者、個人投資者能“參與”的企業。在財務數據未知的情況下買入Facebook股票是一回事，但買入一家私人持股的導管生產商或人力資源管理軟件公司，又是另一回事。 ????當然，增加流動性不一定需要個人投資者參與。你也可以通過新一輪融資來增加流動性，融資可包括一些套現條款[多年前有Webroot，近期有39desgins、高朋（Groupon）等]。你也可以通過“傳統”的二級市場來做(Saints Capital、 Millennium、W Capital、Industry Ventures等等)。不過這兩種方式對現有投資者可能都有一定的稀釋效應。 ????真正的目的是接觸到個人投資者，最好的辦法是通過像SecondMarket這樣的平臺披露某些財務信息。而且，根據與硅谷風險投資人的交談，很快就會有此類行動。 ????“所有財務信息都保密顯然具有競爭優勢，但現在為了幫助公司創始人和雇員套現，披露其中一些信息也能帶來競爭優勢，”一個風險投資人日前告訴我。 ????當然，這不同于在一個公共養老金網站公布相應財務數據，那樣所有人都能看到。潛在投資者可表達初步意向，由公司在投資者中有選擇地分享數據。但事實上，吸引此類意向的最好辦法是首先披露少許防火墻后的數據。而且，由于個人投資者對面向消費者以外的公司興趣相對缺乏，公司在決定與哪些投資者分享數據時可能不會有太多限制條件。 ????必須重申，這不是完全的透明，但這也不是企業自殺行為。 |
????"If you disclose the underlying financials of still-private, VC-backed companies, you will destroy them." ????That's what a venture capitalist told me in 2002, amidst debate over whether or not public pension systems should disclose fund-specific performance data for their VC and PE investments. No one was actually advocating for portfolio-level disclosure at the time, but the "slippery slope" argument was regularly employed by VCs who were terrified of recessionary returns being publicized (i.e., portfolio company wellbeing used as cover for investor embarrassment). ????Fast forward nine years, and it appears that underlying portfolio disclosure is coming. It will be limited. And it will be voluntary. ????Here's what I mean: VC consensus now is that company founders not only deserve partial liquidity pre-exit, but also that it is beneficial for the company (easier to concentrate on work when you're not worrying about car payments). Not applicable to all companies, of course, but for revenue-generating companies that have been around for a while. ????The problem, however, is that the vast majority of these companies have a very difficult time tapping the hyped-up secondary markets – which are dominated by consumer-facing companies that retail buyers can "play" with. It's one thing to buy Facebook shares without knowing the financials, but it's quite another to buy a privately-held maker of catheters or HR management software. ????To be sure, retail investors are not required for incremental liquidity. You could get some via a new funding round that also includes some cash-out provisions (done years ago by Webroot, and more recently by 39desgins, Groupon, etc.), or via the "traditional" secondaries market (Saints Capital, Millennium, W Capital, Industry Ventures, etc.). Both of those options, however, are likely to include some sort of dilution for existing investors. ????The real goal is to access those retail investors, and the best way to do it is by disclosing certain pieces of financial information via a platform like SecondMarket. And, from speaking to VCs out here inSilicon Valley, that's exactly what's about to begin happening. ????"There are obviously competitive advantages of keeping all of your financial information private, but there now are competitive advantages of letting some of it loose in order to help out founders and company employees," one VC told me yesterday. ????To be sure, this isn't the same as publishing underlying financials on a public pension website where anyone can view it. Prospective investors would indicate basic interest, and companies can pick and choose with whom to share data. The reality, however, is that the best way to attract that interest in the first place is to let a few to-line numbers out behind the firewall. And, given the relative dearth of retail interest beyond consumer-facing companies, it's unlikely that companies will be too restrictive on who they hand keys out to. ????Again, this isn't total transparency. But it also isn't corporate suicide. |
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