M&A and deal activity jump as fundraising rebounds in December

Fundraising (27%)

Month-over-month venture fundraising increased more than 27% from about $1.6 billion recorded in November to more than $2 billion in December. Of the 22 funds that reached a close over the month, the largest was by General Catalyst Partners. The venture firm closed on $675 million for its seventh fund. Similarly, Benchmark Capital Management reached a $425 million close for its fund Benchmark Capital Partners VIII LP. For all of 2013, fundraising by U.S.-based venture firms reached almost $16.77 billion.

Deals (65%)

The value of deals in December jumped 65% to $4.94 billion, compared to the $2.99 billion recorded in November. In 2013 alone, U.S.-based venture firms have put almost $42 billion to work in portfolio companies. The average size of a deal in 2013 was $7.55 million. The largest deal in December was a $177.5 million investment in the Palo Alto-based data analysis software developer Palantir Technologies Inc. The deal was led by The Founders Fund.

M&A (121%)

A total of 37 venture-backed M&A deals were completed in December, resulting in an aggregate rank value, including net debt, of $3.9 billion for those with disclosed financial terms. Compared to November, when M&A deal activity was $1.76 billion, the market increased 121% for companies with a U.S.-based financial sponsor. In 2013, 417 M&A deals were completed, resulting in over $27.1 billion dollars in aggregate rank value for the year. The largest deal in December was the acquisition of Mandiant Corp by FireEye Inc for over $1 billion. 

IPO (-72%)

The number of VC-backed IPOs dropped in December with only three known venture-backed companies going public and raising a combined $288 million in proceeds, compared to 11 VC-backed IPOs in November, raising more than $3 billion. The largest VC-backed IPO in December was from Nimble Storage, which raised $193.2 million. Investors in Nimble Storage included Accel Partners, GGV Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital.

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

Data is continuously updated and is therefore subject to change. Data based on U.S. venture firm activity.