Dashboard: IPO proceeds pick up, although total debuts decline

Fundraising (volume down 21%)

Fundraising by venture firms dropped 21 percent to just over $2.37 billion in August, compared to the $3 billion recorded in July. Of the 17 funds that closed over the month, JPMorgan Chase & Co closed the largest fund with their JP Morgan Digital Growth Fund II LP at $1.05 billion in commitments from institutional investors. Similarly, the Stripes Group LLC closed their latest fund, SG Growth Partners III LP, at its target of $500 million.

Deals (value down 31%)

The value of deals in August fell 31 percent to $3.25 billion, compared to the $4.7 billion during the previous month. Overall, there were 271 deals in July with the average equity per deal at $11.94 million. The largest deal to close over the month was the $150 million investment in Lookout Inc, a mobile security company, by Accel Partners & Co, Andreessen Horowitz, Bezos Expeditions, GS Capital Partners, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Mithril Capital Management, T. Rowe Price Threshold Partnerships, Morgan Stanley investment Management and Wellington Management Company.

M&A (value down 59%)

A total of 36 venture-backed deals were completed in August, resulting in an aggregate rank value, including net debt, of $2.15 billion for those that disclosed financial terms. Compared to July, when M&A deal activity was $5.3 billion, the market fell 59 percent for companies with U.S.-based financial sponsors. The largest deal to close in August was the acquisition of Skybox Imaging Inc by Google Inc for $500 million in a cash only transaction.

IPO (total proceeds up 56%)

The number of VC-backed IPOs fell to six in August, compared to the 13 in July. However, total proceeds rose 56 percent to $1.3 billion in August, compared to $824 million in July. That was due to the debut of Jerusalem-based Mobileye NV, which develops camera-based driver assist technology and which held an $890 million IPO on the NYSE in early August.

Compiled by Larry Oberfeld, based on Thomson Reuters data and original research.

Data is continuously updated and is therefore subject to change. Date based on U.S. venture firms.

Photo illustrations by Janet Yuen.