Energy

The oldest standing CVC in the world owes its staying power to discipline, adaptability and unwavering management support says Debi Watson.

There are five key factors that have helped the US oil and gas company's corporate investment unit keep going for 23 years.

Strong collaboration between Applied Materials and the startups Applied Ventures invests in is part of the reason the CVC unit has kept going so long.

Corporate investors rarely acquire the portfolio companies they invest in, but most will still negotiate special rights around an exit.

AbbVie is acquiring Amgen-backed DJS Antibodies for $255m while Legend Holdings took part in a $56.6m series C round for VectorBuilder.

The energy sector's bull market extended into the academic world, with a record number of funding rounds raised last year by energy-related university spinouts. The trend is holding up so far in 2022.

While the rest of the market pulled back investment, GCV data shows that the value of deals backed by energy companies continued to grow in 2022.  

Some 51 new corporate-backed energy funding initiatives were launched in 2021, up from 21 the year before. The trend has continued into 2022.

Oil and gas majors have seen a lot of turnover in senior CVC roles over the past year.

Corporate investors continue to be bullish about investing in the energy transition, even into 2022.

Alexandria Real Estate-backed Acrivon has filed to go public while H2 Green Steel increased its corporate-backed series B round to $255m.