Dashboard: Venture bounces back big in August

U.S.-based fundraising spiked in August thanks to the $2.5 billion fund raised by Technology Crossover Ventures. That was more than all that was raised in the month of July, as U.S. venture fundraising continued on pace toward a record year. M&A also soared thanks to the close of Unilever‘s reported $1 billion acquisition of VC-backed Dollar Shave Club. The deal, announced it July, closed in late August, according to data from Thomson Reuters. Meanwhile, venture-backed IPOs maintained their slow pace. Only two new companies debuted on U.S. exchanges during August, one fewer than the month before.

Fundraising (value up 180%)

U.S.-based venture firms’ fundraising rebounded in August, as they collected more than $6.8 billion in new commitments. That’s nearly triple the $2.45 billion of July. TCV led the way in the month by reaching $2.5 billion for its ninth flagship fund. Summit Partners followed by pooling $2.3 billion for its latest growth equity fund, which was also its ninth.

Deals (value up 144%)

Deals crested to more than $6.1 billion in August after dipping to $2.5 billion in July. Deal count also rose, to 293 from 207. The top deal of the month was for Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc, a customer-service-solution provider that raised nearly $2.3 billion in equity from TCV, Permira Advisers and Hellman & Friedman. Following that was Airbnb, the peer-to-peer accommodations marketplace, which garnered $850 million in financing.

M&A (value up 228%)

Venture-backed M&A value more than tripled to $2.54 billion in August from $775 million in July, thanks to Unilever‘s reported $1 billion acquisition of VC-backed Dollar Shave Club. The deal, announced it July, closed in late August, according to data from Thomson Reuters. In all, 21 U.S.-based venture-backed companies were acquired in August, with five of those disclosing their financials. The second largest acquisition behind the billion-dollar Dollar Shave Club exit was word-processing app Quip Inc, which was acquired by Salesforce for $647 million.

IPO (value down 58%)

The number of VC-backed IPOs dropped to two in August from three in July, with proceeds falling 58 percent to $102 million from $240 million. Protagonist Therapeutics Inc, the developer of orally stable peptides, was the largest of August’s pair, going public for $90 million. Next up was Airgain Inc, an innovator of wireless systems, hitting the market for $12 million.

Source: Based on Thomson Reuters data

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