Public shares received by a fund or SPV in connection with an exit event are often restricted or under lock-up. Once restrictions are lifted on the shares, the decision to liquidate the shares or offer an in-kind election is made at the discretion of the GP as long as certain requirements are met. The ability to transfer shares in-kind is dependent on the value of the shares at the time of lock-up expiration to avoid diluting the value of the shares while accounting for brokerage fees.
If shares are available to be either transferred in-kind or liquidated, GPs receive a notification at the e-mail address associated with their AngelList account. By visiting the AngelList platform, GPs can decide if they would like to offer an in-kind election to LPs or fully liquidate all shares and distribute the funds received pro-rata to LPs. At this time, they can also decide if they would like to receive carry shares (as applicable) transferred in-kind or liquidated for cash. If a GP elects to offer an in-kind election to LPs, the election occurs on the AngelList platform where an LP can decide to elect either cash (liquidated share proceeds) or the transfer of their consideration of shares in-kind.