Venture Capital and Private Equity
Holland & Knight’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Team works collaboratively with clients to achieve their objectives in today’s complex and changing financial marketplace. Customizing our team to fit your requirements, we are committed to effectively and efficiently representing businesses and institutional investors and acquirors in all manner of venture capital and private equity transactions.
Venture Capital Financings
With deep domain experience representing both venture capital funds and technology and other growth companies, and lawyers that stay abreast of market trends, we can guide both investors and entrepreneurs through various types of transactions, including:
- Angel and seed round financings
- Early, mid- and later stage venture capital financing
- Bridge loans and other convertible debt issuances
- Subdebt issuances with warrant coverage
- PIPEs
- Public offerings
Our venture capital financing team has experience not only in financing transactions in industries such as IT services (software, hardware and Internet), telecommunications, biotechnology, medical devices, and health care services, but has also negotiated venture capital investments in various other industries including government contracting, consumer retail and others.
Where appropriate, our team brings together entrepreneurs and investors, helping venture capital firms find possible future portfolio companies while assisting emerging growth companies in achieving their funding goals.
The resources of our international, interdisciplinary firm are readily accessible, enabling us to identify issues in due diligence and suggest practical advice in resolving them.
Private Equity Transactions
Holland & Knight’s transactional practice includes the full range of private equity investment-related activities. We have experience in investment and exit transaction structures of all kinds, including leveraged buy-outs, recapitalizations, transactions with multiple equity sponsors, joint venture structures, minority investments and other structures.
With the changes in the national markets and the increase in the number of financial acquirors, our Venture Capital and Private Equity Team has evolved in size and scope, assisting both financial acquirors and sellers to private equity funds in:
- Structuring transactions
- Advising companies on the differences between financial and strategic acquirors
- Assisting private equity buyers in connection with the increasing due diligence they perform without the benefit of a deep, in-house team
Our Private Equity Team regularly represents purchasers as well as sellers on domestic and international transactions. We leverage the experience and industry knowledge of lawyers and professionals throughout the firm in areas such as tax, ERISA, intellectual property, environmental law, real estate, government contracts, antitrust, and labor and employment to provide a full array of services.
Venture and Private Equity Fund Formation
Our team represents domestic and foreign general partners, institutional investors and fund managers in the formation of a wide variety of onshore and offshore funds, including venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, funds of funds and specialty funds such as real estate and SEC registered hedge funds.
We draw upon the extensive knowledge of our investment management, corporate, tax, securities and ERISA lawyers to provide integrated support in guiding you effectively and cost-efficiently through the entire fund formation process.
Our legal counsel is based on our awareness of the investment market and trends, experience in all aspects of structuring and organizing funds, and a solid understanding of how to assess and mitigate risk. From partnership, regulatory and tax issues to complex matters including ERISA, claw-backs and separation agreements, we are committed to providing timely advice, responsive service, and the resources of our global team.