Initial public offerings of companies backed by venture capital continued to rebound in the second quarter, reaching a level not seen since the beginning of the financial crisis, although mergers and acquisitions of venture capital-backed companies slipped from record first-quarter levels, according to asurvey by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association.
There were 17 venture-backed IPOs valued at $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2010,
the strongest quarter, by number of deals and dollar volume, since the fourth quarter of
2007.
"From a pure volume perspective, the venture-backed exit market is on the right trajectory
with an increased number of IPO’s and a stable and strong number of acquisitions. The
second quarter activity supports the notion that an initial public offering is a viable exit
alternative once again,” said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. “However, volumes paint only half the picture... post-IPO performance must improve overall if we want to move towards a sustainable recovery.”
Of the 17 IPOs in the second quarter, five were trading at or above their offering prices as
of June 30.
Four of the 17 IPO exits for the quarter were in the internet specific sector, accounting for
a total of $181.8 million. But the single largest venture-backed IPO was Tesla Motors, Inc., a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in San Carlos, California, which began trading on June 29th and raised $226 million.
Forty-four venture-backed companies are currently filed for an initial public
offering with the SEC.
There were 92 venture-backed M&A deals in the second quarter, down from the first quarter of 2010, but up 42% from the second quarter of 2009. The average disclosed transaction value of $133.3 million was down 26% on the quarter and 33% on the year.
