Do M&A exits have the same effect on venture capital reputation than IPO exits?

Abstract This paper examines whether merger and acquisition (M&A) exits have the same effect on venture capital (VC) reputation than initial public offering (IPO) exits? Using a large sample of U.S. IPOs and M&As for the period 1996–2015, we find that M&A exit strategy has the same importance as IPO exit strategy in explaining the incentives of young venture capital firms to grandstand. There is, however, no evidence that young VC firms exit from their portfolio companies closer to the next follow-on fund than older VCs. In addition, our results show that to build their reputation, young VC firms are willing to accept a lower premium in the case of M&A exits and to bear the cost of higher underpricing in the case of IPO exits. We also find that the presence of reputed VC affects significantly the probability of an IPO exit over an acquisition exit.