HE venture capital living in a dead end. By June, according to data from SpainCap (formerly Ascri), the employer association that brings together managers, investors and consultants, Investment fell by 46%We are closing the semester at approx. 3 billion euros. This is not a Spanish phenomenon, it is a European phenomenon. Oriol PinyaThe president of SpainCap and co-founder of Abac Capital analyzed the state of the market during the special CAPCorp event: “The year is going quite well, although it is worse than 2024. The value of mergers and acquisitions (mergers and acquisitions) fell by 50% in 2020. “In Europe, in Spain it is only 40% and the number of transactions is 30%. The trend is very good, the Spanish market continues to develop. We are worse than last year, but in the context we are quite good. We are just passing through a trough.”
In the same line, Ignacio HornedoThe M&A partner at Allen & Overy added: “There have been fewer transactions, but this is not a local phenomenon, it is global.” The director of the legal services firm emphasized in recent months: Access to finance has become less: “The appetite for financing has decreased, especially in large-volume operations. In some transactions, it had to put in more. Equality (capital city) more than in other cases, but deals remain closed.
Borja CuellarThe partner of management company Tresmares Capital noted that many companies and their managers are rethinking the route: “This seller and buyer’s evaluation did not match. This explains why many organized sales processes exist but very few bear fruit. There are companies that see the opportunity to develop new strategic plans in these more complex markets. We’ve also seen interest in debt refinancing, cash release, and organic expansion. “With all this, we are seeing closed operations becoming active again.”
Raising capital to invest seems complicated
Processes Donationan English word used to describe the process by which managers raise capital for a new fund, is going through a difficult time. Juan Luis RamírezThe partner and founder of Portobello Capital explained why: “The market is quite dry. Investors who allocate part of their portfolios to private equity are overinvesting in alternative assets. To this we must add that there are delays in the investment process and the disposal of any funds”. This makes it difficult for participants in these instruments to recycle their capital and invest in others. “I am the market Donation get well soon. The consensus is that this will happen from the second half of 2024.” added the manager.
Ricardo Miró-QuesadaThe partner and leader of the Private Equity department of the firm Arcano Partners wanted to reassure those present: “Spain continues in line with what is happening globally; Donation. Context matters: 2021 and 2022 were extraordinary years“.
private debt funds (private debt) like that One of the most popular segments of recent months. “Companies finance themselves with banks if they can. However, this does not prevent debt funds from allowing the financing of some projects in operations that could not be carried out before because they exceed bank debt rates,” he emphasized. Idoia BengoaTalde’s corporate general manager. Leticia RuenesPemberton, another private debt manager, added: “The funds have the ability to provide flexibility compared to traditional banking financing.”
Currently such tools offer a Return between 9% and 9.5%. “Private debt is an attractive product because it offers an attractive risk-return combination. There is already talk of a golden age of private debt. Despite this, investors are very selective, and the most established managers who know how to maintain greater discipline monopolize the bulk of investments. Donation“explained Pablo BurgosPayables officer at ICG.
The secure future of venture capital
All experts attending the 23rd CAPCorp congress confirmed that the industry is doing well and buyers and sellers only need to meet the value expectations of operations to recover activity. “The market is improving a little. New sources of capital are approaching the sector, such as family offices, private banks and institutions that did not exist before. For example, the Norwegian sovereign fund will invest 60 billion. We would like to thank the Official Credit Institute (ICO) for supporting us a lot, because it is a great way to put capital into companies They know it benefits the economy,” said the partner of the Portobello management company, which has invested among other companies in Ferrovial services (Serveo), or the former division of the Condis supermarket chain.
Internationally, the outlook for the Spanish venture capital market is good. “There is a lot of political noise within the country, but it does not cross borders. Spain continues to be very attractive for investment as it is experiencing continuous growth“It has a greater export capacity or human capital formation than even other countries such as Germany,” he emphasized. Yaukuma ArmbrusterQuantum Capital Partners’ partner in the Iberian Peninsula.
Joaquin AlcaldeThe partner and leader of the management company Ufenau Capital Partners in our country added in the same vein: “Spain was the first country in which Ufenau invested outside central Europe. It is a very interesting country in terms of technology investment: there are many professionals in products and services with potential.”