The recovery of the Spanish economy consolidated in 2016, with a significant number of venture capital deals, including the sale of the VC backed e-commerce giant Privalia to Vente Privee. In general terms, the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem has grown with the incorporation of very promising start-ups that have gained the attention of local and foreign venture capital firms, especially in Barcelona and Madrid.
The Spanish government has already invested more than EUR 1.2 billion in VC funds through Fond-ICO, the first public venture capital ‘fund of funds’ created in Spain, with investment commitments of EUR 1.5 billion. In addition, a number of Spanish VC firms have also successfully closed new funds to invest in start-ups, growth capital, late venture and secondary deals.
Osborne Clarke Spain has been a significant player in the Spanish venture capital arena during the last few years, advising several European and US VC firms and corporate venture divisions of industrial corporations such as 14 W Ventures, Antai, Caixa Capital Risc, Eight Road Ventures (Fidelity), Gri-Cel (Grifols), Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Kennet Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Scranton Enterprises and Ysios Capita. Most of the most recent deals where Osborne Clarke Spain has been involved focus on finance rounds in the digital business and life sciences sectors.
Recent deals include advising: