VC Liquidity Crisis and Secondary Market Boom
Key Questions
What is driving the VC liquidity crisis in Europe?
Secondary market discounts of 40-60% persist amid weak exit environments, with IPOs shifting toward partial exits and M&A. PitchBook data shows AI megadeals supporting VC resilience in the UK while overall exits remain muted, particularly in France Q2.
Which funds are active in the secondary market?
Acurio has closed a €115M VC secondaries fund, Aspire11 has deployed €100M into companies like Revolut, ElevenLabs, and Vinted, and Flexstone has acquired a $3.5B secondaries manager. SFC Capital also completed a partial exit from Hunter & Gather via secondary sale.
What is Revolut's valuation in the planned secondary share sale?
Revolut is poised for a major liquidity event targeting a $115B valuation through secondary share sales, reflecting ongoing demand for high-profile tech assets despite broader market discounts.
Secondary market discounts of 40-60% persist, with multiple funds and secondary sales emerging: Acurio closes €115M VC secondaries fund, Aspire11 deploys €100M into Revolut/ElevenLabs/Vinted, Flexstone acquires $3.5B secondaries manager, SFC Capital partially exits Hunter & Gather via secondary. France Q2 shows muted exits but PE rebound. PitchBook Q2 UK snapshot confirms AI megadeals driving VC resilience while exit environment remains weak. The shift from IPOs to partial exits and M&A continues.