PwC | Raise Ventures VC Term Sheet Market Report is an annual independent report on the key terms seen in VC term sheets.
The 2021 report contains valuable insights into VC market norms based on analysis of 187 Seed, Series A, B and C+ anonymised final term sheets from transactions closed in 2020 by the PwC | Raise Ventures team and a select number of law firms with specialist VC practices.
The data covers deals with VC funds, family offices, the VC arms of corporates and EIS/VCT funds.
Fieldfisher contributed more than 20 deals to inform PWC | Raise Ventures' analysis, out of the firm's portfolio of 80+ VC and growth equity transactions over 2020 with an aggregate value in excess of £572 million.
The term sheet is a crucial document typically signed at the outset of a VC transaction, which informs the key terms and structure of a deal before the parties expend time, energy and costs on implementing it.
In an opaque and highly competitive VC market, few first-time founders are able to gauge how the terms and stipulations of any offer measure up to those set out in other term sheets.
PWC | Raise Ventures' unbiased analysis of common terms and clauses, one of the only sources of such data in the VC market, is therefore a vital aide for many founders looking to scale up their business, while also enabling investment funds to gauge how customary or "on-market" their terms may be.
The report includes analysis of:
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Pre-money valuations;
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Option pools;
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Downside protection for investors;
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Anti-dilution clauses;
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Board of directors stipulations (board structure and voting); and
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Drag-along clauses.
"PWC | Raise Ventures' analysis is an incredibly useful tool for the VC market and we are delighted to have shared our experiences of recent deals with their team to inform this year's report.
"Our VC practice has had another active year during 2021, with our advice ranging from seed financings to significant growth equity and venture debt investment across a breadth of sectors, primarily in the technology space."
Fieldfisher's international VC and growth practice continues to grow from strength to strength and was further bolstered by the recent arrival of corporate partner Thomas Colmer who joined in October 2021 from PwC Legal, where he led the UK Legal Deals and Private Business team. Thomas represents numerous growth equity clients and in 2021, he has advised on completed equity fundraisings with an aggregate value in excess of US$200 million to date.
Access the PwC | Raise Ventures VC Term Sheet market report.
VC deal highlights in 2021
Some transaction highlights closed by Fieldfisher's VC and growth equity team in 2021 include:
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Advising Oberland Capital on a US$300 million secured loan note financing of clinical-stage company Centessa Pharmaceuticals;
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Advising UK-based ecommerce platform OnBuy.com on the equity financing aspects of its £35 million Series A+ round with some of the leading names in online retail;
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Advising UK-headquartered medtech company Ultromics on its US$33 million Series B funding round led by the Blue Venture Fund with participation from Optum Ventures, GV, and existing investor Oxford Sciences Innovation;
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Advising Paris-headquartered SWEN Capital Partners on its €20 million investment in the largest biomethane plant in the Netherlands;
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Advising Ireland-based floating wind pioneer Simply Blue Group on a €15 million equity investment from Octopus Renewables;
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Advising Superfluid, a blockchain-based system that streams perpetual payments for use in crypto-native settings and also for things like subscriptions and salaries, on its US$9 million funding round led by Multicoin Capital;
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Advising EIS funds managed by Guinness Asset Management on the £3.7 million Series A financing of influencer marketing company Tailify Software;
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Advising Fuel Ventures as lead investor in Peckwater Brands' £3 million seed funding alongside participation from Pembroke VCT; and
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Advising mobile app Paired on its US$3.6 million seed funding led by Eka Ventures.
Fieldfisher is a European law firm with market-leading practices in many of the world’s most dynamic sectors. We are an exciting, forward-thinking organisation with a particular focus on technology, financial services, energy & natural resources and life sciences.
Fieldfisher has 25 offices across 11 countries. The firm’s VC, growth equity and private equity and M&A expertise is spread across our European, Chinese and US network.
We operate across our offices in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Belfast, Birmingham, Bologna, Brussels, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Turin, Venice and Silicon Valley.
We work collaboratively with each of our offices to ensure our clients receive the best advice and support.