Insights | Clipperton

Clipperton releases today its paper “The Journey from Venture Capital to Private Equity: The 2025 Guide for Tech Startups”. This comprehensive study explores the increasing prevalence of Private Equity (PE) as an exit option for Venture Capital-backed companies, particularly within the technology sector. The report is designed to provide founders, venture capitalists, and stakeholders with actionable guidance on navigating this evolving landscape and optimizing for successful PE transactions.

When we published the first edition of this study in 2023, we anticipated a paradigm shift in the exit strategies of European startups. Two years later, this trend has been fully confirmed: private equity is establishing itself as a structuring alternative to IPOs and traditional M&A.

📌 Some highlights from the 2025 report:

LBOs now account for a quarter of VC exits in Europe, compared with just 8% in 2006.
What’s more, an analysis of exits from software companies in France above €50m shows that over 80% of these exits involve a private equity fund, either directly – via an LBO: 53% in 2024 versus 42% in 2021 – or indirectly – via a company already in the portfolio and a build-up, 28%.
Debt and PE funds are becoming essential tools in the construction of these new growth and liquidity trajectories. Moreover, in a context where VCs have to generate more exits and strategic acquirers show greater selectivity, private equity is taking on a central role in meeting this need for liquidity.
Our study, based on entrepreneur testimonials, exclusive data, and a 20-year track record in tech M&A, is intended as a practical guide for founders and investors navigating this “new world”.

This shift has reshaped the way tech companies need to approach exits. This trend is likely to endure, and it has become crucial for both VC firms and Tech entrepreneurs to understand how to successfully prepare their companies for a PE exit.