John Maynard Keynes developed the Liquidity Preference of Interest in the General Theory of Employment Interest and Money. The primary consideration of the liquidity preference is the demand for money as an asset, as a means for holding wealth. Interest rates, he argues, cannot be a reward for savings as such because, if a person hoards his savings in cash, keeping it under his mattress say, he will receive no interest, although he has nevertheless, refrained from consuming all his current income. Instead of a reward for savings, interest in the Keynesian analysis is a reward for parting with liquidity.
Venture Capital
In the venture capital world, the term "liquidity preference" refers to a clause in a term sheet specifying that, upon a liquidity event, the investors are compensated two ways:
First, they receive back their initial investment (or perhaps a multiple of it), and any declared but not yet paid dividends
Second, the investors and all other owners (e.g. founders, etc.) divide whatever remains of the purchase price according to their ownership of the firm being sold, etc.
Example:
A founder owns a firm which is valued at $100,000, and venture capitalists buy new shares for $50,000 (thus making the firm worth $150,000, and giving the VCs 33% of it)
dividends of $20,000 for class A shareholders (i.e. the VCs) are declared, but not paid
the firm is sold to a new owner for $400,000
the venture capitalists take $20,000 of dividends out, leaving $380,000
the VCs then take $50,000 of their initial investment out, leaving $330,000
the VCs then take 33% of the money ($110,000), leaving 66% for the founder ($220,000)
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