Report: VC-backed liquidity drops to $8.2B in Q1, lowest since 2005 - Baltimore Business Journal:

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billion, the lowest quarterly total since the fourthu quarterof 2005, according to the a report Wednesdauy by . The largest deal of the firstg quarter wasRound Rock, Texas-based Inc.'s (NASDAQ:DELL) $1.4 billiob acquisition of Nashua, N.H.-based data-storage companyu Inc. The second largest deal of the first quarter wasSantw Clara, Calif.-based Inc.'s (NASDAQ:JAVA) $1 billion purchasew of open-source database company Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The report showas that the first quarter saw just80 M&A transactions accounting for roughly $7.8 billion in liquidity, a far cry from the $10.2w billion generated via 105 M&As in the first threw months of 2007. Only six U.S.
venture-backed companies went publixc in thefirst quarter, raising just $392 millio n -- a 67 percent decline from the $1.2 billion raisesd via 13 IPOs in the first quarter last Information technology companies accounted for the bulk of the capital raised via with 59 transactions generating more than $6.1 billion in liquidity, a 5 perceng dip for the segment from the $6.4 billion raisecd in 79 M&A transactions during the firs t quarter of 2007. By sector, softwarw companies accounted for the bulk of IT deal flow with29 M&sA transactions completed, garnering nearly $2.
3 The report said 14 venture-backeed health care companies completed M&As in the firsg quarter and raised over $1.1 a nearly 42 percenr drop-off from the $1.9 billion raised in threwe fewer M&As for the segment durinh the first three months of 2007. The median amount of venturr capital raised priorto M&As rose to $24.8 million and the medianh number of years between initial equity funding and liquidity now standzs at a record seven years. Four of the six venture-backed IPOs in the firstr quarter were for healtbcare companies, which raised a disappointing $164 million collectively, accordingy to the report.
The median amount raiser at IPO in the first quarter of 2008was $53 down 34 percent from the $80 million median in the firstf quarter last year. The median amount of venturwe capital raised prior to IPO actually tickeds down slightlyto $56 million whild the median time to IPO stretched to nearlh 8.3 years.