VC's Toes Getting Ready to Dip

I am hearing more and more anecdotal evidence that venture capital and private equity firms are interested in learning more about reverse mergers, self-filings and other IPO alternatives as a path to exit for portfolio companies. Some are even investing in PIPE financings (they call them VIPERs). Can they get comfortable investing in a public company? I think just as they were comfortable letting a portfolio company complete an IPO, with a 6 month lock up of their shares, this is similar. Once they decide after that six-month hold to not sell their shares, guess what? They are investing in a public company. They can complain about liquidity until they focus on the longer-term horizon when a company which may not trade much at first logs some good quarters, gets some Wall Street attention and then moves up-market.

Keep tuned…I think it may be coming…

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