The Valuation Adjustment Mechanism has been widely used in Europe, the United States, Hong Kong and other countries and regions. In recent years, it has entered China as an investment tool frequently used in foreign private equity and has shown a vigorous development trend. On the one hand, a large number of foreign private equity funds have entered the capital market of our country to engage in the business of investment field and have made huge profits. On the other hand, after more than ten years of development, the domestic private equity funds have also begun to emerge and develop rapidly in relevant fields. At the same time, the system environment in our country is also constantly improving. Equity structure reform started in 2005, the small and medium-sized board market started in 2006, and the Partnership Enterprise Law recognized the limited partnership in 2007. All of these provided a better investment environment for private equity funds. Although the Valuation Adjustment Mechanism has been widely used in the field of investment in our country, due to the lack of a clear system guarantee and no explicit stipulation in the law, the mode of investment guarantee faced with many legal risks and encountered bottlenecks in development. Most private equity investors keep a certain distance with the day-to-day management of the target companies, they use the Valuation Adjustment Mechanism instead, to achieve business goals and management through the agreement, When business performance is good, they will choose to invest more capital, the business management will also be correspondingly generous rewards; Conversely, if not meet the set expectations, investors will usually exercise the right to get control of the target company, or exercise of the right of redemption and withdrawal, the management of the company will also be punished, such as giving up control and compensation for benefits. This article starts with the status quo and main problems of the agreement and it examines the system outside the country, with a view to analyzing the definition, legal nature, practical application, find the legal obstacles in the development of the agreement, to provide a good private equity investment legal environment and system guarantee. Key words: Valuation Adjustment Mechanism, Private Equity, Legal Nature, Risk Prevention

对赌协议已在欧洲、美国、香港等国家和地区得到广泛运用，近年来，作为外资私募股权融资中经常使用的投资工具进入中国并呈现出朝气蓬勃的发展态势。一方面，大量境外私募股权基金组织进入我国资本市场从事投资领域业务，取得了丰厚的利益回报；另一方面，国内私募股权基金经过十几年的发展，也开始在相关领域崭露头角并迅速发展起来。与此同时，我国的体制大环境也在不断改善中，2005年开始股权分置改革、2006年中小板市场启动、2007年《合伙企业法》承认有限合伙等等，均为私募股权基金提供了良好的投资环境。尽管对赌协议在我国投资领域已得到广泛应用，但由于缺少明确的制度保障，法律中没有对其做出明确的规定，因而使该投资担保模式面临着诸多法律风险，遭遇发展瓶颈。大多数私募股权投资方与目标企业即融资方的日常管理保持一定距离，使用对赌协议来代替，通过在对赌协议中约定企业目标绩效来实现管理。当企业绩效表现好时，他们会选择投入更多的资本，企业管理层也会相应得到丰厚奖励；反之，若未能达到设定的预期目标，投资方通常会行使权利通过得到股权的方式得到目标企业的控制权，或行使赎回权和退出权，而企业管理层也会受到惩罚如让出控制权或进行利益赔偿等。在这种情况下，相关的合同条款就被认为是一种估值调整机制，对赌协议应运而生。本文从对赌协议的现状和主要问题入手，同时对域外制度进行考察，以期通过对对赌协议的涵义、法律关系、法律性质、合法性问题以及实践运用等方面进行分析，找到对赌协议在我国发展时可能会遇到的法律障碍，从而为对赌协议找到一条适合在中国法律体系环境下发展的道路，即从宏观和微观层面对对赌协议进行法律风险的控制和防范，给私募股权投资提供优越的法律环境和制度保障。本文的创新之处主要体现在文章的第五部分，对赌协议的法律风险防范，其中有根据国外相关领域的经验，结合我国具体情况而总结出来的方法，虽然在实践中还没有被广泛运用，但笔者相信，不久的将来一定会实现。关键字：对赌协议，私募股权投资，法律性质，风险防范