Value creation of portfolio companies by private equity funds

Venture capital has a very long story. The financing of Christopher Colombus¿s voyage of exploration by the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabelle may be seen as one of the most profitable venture capital investments, for the Spanish at least. Venture capital (VC) and Private equity (PE) funds has emerged as the dominant source of finance for entrepreneurial and early stage businesses. Academic literature reveals that venture capital funded companies show superior performance to non venture capital funded companies. Many of the successful businesses that we know today such as Cisco, eBay, Apple, Microsoft and Google received venture capital funding at one point or the other. Venture capital backed firms contribute to the economy through the creation of jobs, an exceptional growth rate, their high level of investments, and their global experience and expansion. The proportion of companies that receive venture capital funding, however, is very small. Despite that, there has been a growth in the availability of VC over the years in the different branches and economies. Evidence indicates that VC funded companies perform better than comparative companies that are not VC funded.