Overview
Stinson's Venture Capital and Emerging Companies practice provides efficient and cost-effective legal representation of venture capital funds and other investors making strategic investments in emerging growth companies. We also represent emerging growth companies in their capital-raising activities. Our attorneys have conducted hundreds of venture capital investment transactions, thus providing the insight needed to effectively address business drivers, trends, uncertainties and risks across a broad array of industries.
Our experience structuring a variety of equity and debt instruments enables us to proactively advise our clients as they consider potential investments. While our attorneys have experience across a variety of industries, we focus our efforts in the areas of manufacturing, animal health, health care and medical devices, bioscience technology, life science technology, nanotechnology, software and computer technology and renewable energy.
Strategic Investments and Venture Funds
Stinson represents venture capital funds in fund formation, capital raising and investment activities. When representing strategic corporate investors and venture funds, we work with our clients on all aspects of the investment, performing due diligence, structuring the transaction and documenting transaction terms. We have deep experience in evaluating intellectual property issues, partly as a result of our third-party due diligence technology representation on numerous transactions.
Emerging Growth Companies
We also enthusiastically represent emerging growth companies from their formation and early stages of growth through an initial public offering or liquidity event. We assist emerging growth companies in capital-raising activities from advising on capital-raising strategies and valuation levels to drafting private placement memoranda and perfecting state and federal offering exemptions to closing. We also act as general counsel for emerging growth companies and advise them in all areas of their operations, including protection of their intellectual property, employee issues, equity-based compensation, and real estate matters.
Capabilities
- Structuring, negotiating and closing venture capital transactions, including preferred stock and convertible debt
- Fund and capital formation
- Executing investment and exit strategies for portfolio companies
- Executing add-on acquisitions for fund portfolio companies
- Control acquisition transactions (including leveraged buyouts)
- Mezzanine finance
- Limited partner representation
- Identifying and implementing tax-efficient structures and management rollover solutions
- Scrutinizing acquisition opportunities, including debt and equity financing
- Risk assessment
- Satisfying regulatory requirements, including pre-merger filings, when applicable
- Acting as general counsel to portfolio companies, advising them on their most challenging legal needs and on daily legal matters
