The Sponsor’s Edge: Insights on Growth and Venture Investing—Alternatives to Down Rounds and Bridging Valuation Gaps (Part I)

We are pleased to introduce a new Ropes & Gray podcast series, The Sponsor’s Edge: Insights on Growth and Venture Investing, which explores a variety of subjects of importance to growth and venture fund sponsors. This series will feature attorneys from a number of practice groups at Ropes & Gray, including private funds, venture investing & emerging companies, and restructuring, as they examine issues germane to growth and venture fund sponsors in the current investment environment.On this opening episode, asset management counsel Catherine Skulan hosts the first of a two-part conversation between Brad Flint, partner and co-lead of Ropes & Gray’s venture investing & emerging companies practice, and Raj Banerjee, a senior associate in that practice. Brad and Raj discuss down rounds and their alternatives, including recapitalizations when a down round isn’t enough. Their discussion also sheds light on evolving and emerging terms that are becoming increasingly common in today’s deal landscape.Please stay tuned for the second part of their conversation, where they will cover the emergence of additional terms and investor protection mechanisms recently taking root in the market.