Venture capital is a form of investment that has enabled thousands of small private companies to expand, change or simply survive. Within larger companies it has enabled groups of managers to buy the right to run them. This book explains the nature of the venture capital industry and describes in detail the uses for this form of finance, including an analysis of where it is most commonly used.

Illustrating by example, it also explains how various forms of buyouts are structured and seen through to fruition, taking in along the way a description of the investment process, the development of a business plan, alternative sources of finance and how the decision to adopt a particular financing structure is reached. (text by author)