Monthly analysis: July-August 2019

Three corporate venturing windfalls have resulted in three different strategies to maximise shareholder value over the long-term.

With innovation in technology fast outpacing traditional business processes, corporations are increasingly turning to investments as a way of adapting to change and staying ahead of the competition.

Sister publication Global University Venturing’s analysis of the second quarter of 2019 shows increased investment activity as the year progresses and record-breaking amounts generated through exits.

“WeWork’s Bonkers IPO,” said Fortune’s daily newsletter. “The Weirdness of WeWork’s IPO Filing”, sister publication CEO Daily called it, adding: “If a recession is coming, the WeWork IPO filing… will be a fitting capstone for the peak.”

Last year there was a peak in number of IPOs of corporate-backed emerging business, while the first half of 2019 hosted some much-awaited flotations like those of Uber, Lyft and Slack. We look at the broader picture for corporate-backed companies going public.

Rounds above $100m tend to be raised by companies based in the US and China. Last year we saw a record number of corporate-backed rounds.

Since the beginning of 2018, a fifth of all corporate investors whose deals we track appear to be newcomers.

Analysis: Q2 2019

The latest note by data provider PitchBook found that, in the context of growth in corporate venture capital, the most active CVC arms it examines have shown a strong historical performance and corporate-backed portfolio companies have reaped benefits in the form of higher exit chances and lower bankruptcy rates