Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Posted by
Lynn-Ann Gries
I just read the National Venture Capital Association’s report on the national M&A and IPO activity for 2010. In summary, 2010 had 72 venture-backed IPOs for the year and over 400 M&A deals, representing a total value of over $25 billion. While we’re not quite back to 2007 levels, we’re sure heading in the right direction.
| Year |
Total M&A deals |
Total disclosed value (in millions)* |
Total IPOs (w/at least 1 VC investor) |
Total offer amount (in millions) |
| 2007 |
380 |
$29,554 |
86 |
$10,326 |
| 2008 |
348 |
$13,877 |
6 |
$ 420 |
| 2009 |
273 |
$13,553 |
12 |
$ 1,642 |
| 2010 |
420 |
$18,307 |
72 |
$ 7,017 |
Mark Heesen, President of the NVCA, said that the year moved the industry from “abysmal to viable,” but I’m feeling a bit more positive about things; in fact, I’m feeling downright excited about the liquidity being achieved by the market. Liquidity begets additional investment and should help, even in a small way, to fill the growth capital funding gap that has gotten wider over the past few years. I’m not the only one who thinks so. According to the NVCA’s annual survey of industry predictions among its own members:
- More than 50% believe than VC investment will pick up in 2011
- 67% of VCs believe more venture-backed companies will go public in 2011, and
- Over 80% of VCs believe there will be more acquisitions in 2011
On a more local note, we are in the final stages of gathering and analyzing Northeast Ohio’s venture capital investing performance for 2010 (look for this good news story in the next week or so). And while I know first-hand that our region is still “under-ventured” (especially with regard to Series A/B capital), the above statistics cause me to be optimistic for 2011; so much so that I found myself humming this familiar tune while analyzing the data and crafting this blog. Maybe 2011 will be the year we get out of the woods?
* Usually represents only about 30% of M&A deal value, based on approx. 30% of M&A deals being disclosed in the years reported above.
Lynn-Ann Gries is the Chief Investment Officer of JumpStart Ventures. She previously worked in the investment banking departments at both McDonald Investments and Smith Barney (now part of Citigroup), and in the sales and trading area at Morgan Stanley. She received her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and her BA in Economics from Smith College. She currently serves on the board of the Fund for the Future of Shaker Heights, the Great Lakes Science Center and Summer on the Cuyahoga (SOTC).