Dashboard: February brings a boost to venture fundraising

Fundraising (amount up 113%)

U.S.-based venture firms raised about $3.4 billion in February, a spike from January’s $1.6 billion raised, marking a 113 percent increase from month to month. Bessemer Venture Partners was the leader of the pack by raising the entirety of Bessemer Venture Partners IX and reaching its goal of $1.6 billion. Placing second for the month of February was August Capital Management, which raised $450 million and closed its seventh fund at the target it set out to hit.

Deals (value falls 16%)

February marked the second month in a row that venture capital deal activity took a slight hit. A total of 274 U.S.-based companies raised $3.3 billion in February, down from $3.9 billion raised by 251 companies in January. The largest deal of the month was Social Finance Inc, closing on $213.0 million in equity. After that came Accela Inc, which closed on $143.5 million in financing, and Jet.com Inc which raised $140 million in equity.

M&A (deal value down 78%)

A total of 18 venture-backed, U.S.-based companies were acquired in February, but just two disclosed deal values. Together, the two deals totaled $270 million, which was a 78 percent fall from January’s total of $1.2 billion. The two deals with disclosed values in February included Boston Heart Diagnostics Corp, which was acquired by Eurofins Scientific SE for $200 million, and Meritage Pharma Inc, which sold to Shire PLC for $70 million.

IPO (proceeds down 74%)

A total of four VC-backed companies went public on the NYSE and Nasdaq in February, compared to eight new issues in January. The overall proceeds of the IPOs decreased about 30 percent from nearly $759 million down to $532 million. The most prominent of the February offerings was InVitae Corp, a company that specializes in genetic testing, whose IPO sold for just under $117 million.

Based on Thomson Reuters data and original research, as compiled by Paul Centopani for VCJ.

Data is continuously updated and is therefore subject to change.

Photo illustrations by Janet Yuen.