Svenskt venture capital och dess lönsamhet - i ett internationellt perspektiv
Venture capitalSverigeLönsamhetAvkastningEuropaUSAExitmarknadSpecialiseringDiversifieringFramtidsutsikterSåddStart-upExpansionsbolagInternationell jämförelseInvesteringsfas
In this thesis, the Swedish venture capital market and its profitability is analyzed. Venture capital is defined as capital that is invested in the early stages of a company's life cycle, in the two investment stages seed/start-up and expansion.A common view is that the profitability of Swedish venture capital has not been, is not and will probably not become high either. With this in mind, we try to answer to the following questions in this thesis:? What has the profitability of Swedish venture capital actually been historically?? Which reasons could be found in order to explain the historical returns for Swedish venture capital, and which factors has been identified in international comparative studies between venture capital markets?In order to answer these questions, data showing historical returns for the Swedish, European and American venture capital market has been gathered, an extensive literature study has been performed, and three interviews with participants from the Swedish venture capital market has been conducted.We conclude that the historical returns of Swedish venture capital is in line with the general view that they have been low. We also see a trend where Swedish venture capital funds that are not specialized in one investment stage generate lower returns than more specialized funds. European venture capital has also delivered low returns, while American venture capital historically has given substantially higher returns.A large part of the capital that has been invested in Swedish venture capital was invested during the IT-boom around the turn of the millennia, and at that time there was too much capital allocated towards venture capital in relation to the companies that was to invest in. The crash landing that followed is an important explanation to why Swedish venture capital has generated low returns historically.We conclude that a well functioning exit market for venture capital is a decisive factor to reach high returns, and, as many point out, such a market does not exist in Sweden. A well functioning common European exit market for venture capital would be highly beneficial to Swedish venture capital.American venture capital funds are more specialized regarding industry in comparison to European and Swedish funds, which is an important factor in explaining the higher returns of American venture capital. As the Swedish venture capital market matures, it is reasonable to expect an increased industry specialization also in Swedish venture capital funds.