The spread of COVID-19 has undeniably driven the accelerated adoption of fintech solutions across Southeast Asia and leading fintech start-ups have in recent times found themselves to be in a good position to raise more capital. However, the harsher reality of the pandemic and the economic turmoil has in fact had a significant adverse impact on equity values and valuations of companies across the world, including Southeast Asia.
Start-ups looking to raise capital by across multiple rounds of fund raising may not be able to do so in the usual fashion where each subsequent round is closed at a higher price per share than the last. The spectre of “down rounds” or the issuance of shares at lower prices than previous rounds, is now an increasing reality.
For companies that have issued earlier rounds of convertible preferred equity, a down round is likely to result in the application of anti-dilution mechanisms attached to such preceding preferred equity.
This briefing will look into some anti-dilution mechanisms commonly adopted in convertible preferred equity, highlight the issues that both investors and issuers need to keep in mind when negotiating these provisions and briefly touch on possible alternatives to a down round.
Anti-dilution mechanisms
There are three common types of anti-dilution protection mechanisms used in convertible preferred equity. They are: Continue reading “Down Round Fundraising: Some Insights”