Valgard Investments Look to Asia

Toronto, Ontario, October 16, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ​Valgard Investments are looking at Asia as the next logical step for expanding its global portfolio. Valgard have for some time been looking at late-stage investments in Asia and believe now is the right time to move forward.

Valgard’s Senior Analyst said “We see the region as major competition for Silicon Valley with many savvy technology entrepreneurs in the region that have been building successful businesses and need the expertise and network that a firm like ours can bring for continued growth”. He also said, “Now is still a time for caution as the market is pretty volatile but we certainly see opportunities out there for VC’s that are prepared to move away from their comfort zone, geographically speaking”.

The number of venture deals completed in the third quarter however fell to a two-year low, reflecting fewer early-stage investments. But the number of late-stage megadeals grew, with 68 deals of more than $100m in the quarter.

Some of the biggest increase in investment was in Asia, where three times as much money was put to work as in Europe, according to the study. Venture funding in China has grown particularly quickly, and during this quarter reached four times the level of the same period a year ago. Significant deals included ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi’s $3bn fundraising, and a $1bn round for LY.com, the Chinese ticket site.

The data have been released at a time when some prominent investors in Silicon Valley are voicing concerns that many tech start-ups are being overvalued. “The bubble may not burst, exactly, it is going to be more of a slow-motion ooze,” said one private equity investor who has worked in tech for several decades.

The initial public offering pipeline for private companies has also slowed, and some recent tech listings have struggled after going public. Pure Storage, which makes storage systems for data centres, was listed last week, only to see its shares sink below its IPO price within days of trading.

In Europe, deal activity grew to $3.6bn in the quarter, one-fourth the levels of Asia and one-fifth the levels of the US. The UK continued to be the top spot for investment in the region, accounting for nearly a third of the money put to work on the continent. However, UK deal activity fell to a five-quarter low.

The companies on the receiving end of these investments are taking advantage of the boom times. Marco Zappacosta, chief executive of Thumbtack, a services listing start-up that raised $125m earlier this month, told the Financial Times that the fundraising was “definitely not out of need”.

“The honest answer is, we did it because we could,” he said.