The Exit Decision in the European Venture Capital Market

This article analyzes the exit decision in the European venture capital market, studying when to exit and how it interacts with the exit form. The paper emphasizes the impact of asymmetric information on the divestment decision. Our model considers the impact of haracteristics of the venture capital investor, characteristics of the investment and contracting variables on the exit decision. Our results show that venture capitalists associated with .nancial institutions have quicker exits, a result which is stronger for trade-sales exits. In addition, our results highlight the importance of the contracting variables on the exit decision. An unexpected but interesting result is that the presence in the board of directors leads to longer investment duration.