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Silicon Valley Venture Capital Survey Fourth Quarter 2012 -Fenwick & West

Posted in Barry Kramer, Capital Formation, Capitalism, Fenwick & West, Michael Patrick, Uncategorized, Venture Capital on February 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Article from Fenwick and West Venture Capital Survey, by:

Barry Kramer
Michael Patrick

Background
We analyzed the terms of venture financings for 116 companies headquartered in Silicon Valley that reported raising
money in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Overview of Fenwick & West Results

  • Up rounds exceeded down rounds in 4Q12, 71% to 8%, with 21% of rounds flat.  This was an
  • improvement over 3Q12, when 61% of rounds were up, 17% were down and 22% flat, and was evidence
  • that those companies that are getting funded are receiving strong valuations.
  • The Fenwick & West Venture Capital Barometer™ showed an average price increase of 85% in 4Q12, a
  • slight increase from 78% in 3Q12.  Series B rounds continued to be the strongest rounds.
  • The median price increase of financings in 4Q12 was 41%, an increase over 23% in 3Q12.  There were four financings (three software, one hardware) that were up over 400% in 4Q12.
  • The results by industry are set forth below.  In general software, and to a lesser extent internet/ digital media, continued to be the strongest industries, with hardware solid and life science showing significant improvement, and cleantech lagging significantly.
  • The percentage of Series A rounds declined significantly, to 12% of all deals.
  • Further evidence of the strong valuation environment for those companies that are successful at raising
  • money is that the use of senior and multiple liquidation preferences have both declined significantly over the past year.

Overview of Other Industry Data

In 2012, we generally saw a weaker venture environment than 2011, especially during the last half of the year.
Venture investing and acquisitions of venture backed companies both declined compared to 2011, and while
IPOs and fundraising were both up, this was primarily a result of a strong first half of the year.  Some other
trends were:

  • Venture fundraising continues to trail venture investing, although the gap closed fairly significantly in
  • 2012.
  • The amount of money raised by venture funds continues to be concentrated in a relatively small number
  • of large funds.
  • Enterprise facing IT businesses appear to have attracted increased interest in 2012, while consumer
  • facing IT businesses (e.g., internet/digital media) appear to be a bit less attractive.
  • Cleantech and to a lesser extent life science continue to be weak, although they appear to be attracting
  • more corporate interest.trends in terms of venture financings in silicon valley—fourth quarter 2012 2
  • Accelerators and seed financings continue to be strong, but Series A (post seed) financings were often
    difficult to obtain.

Although venture capitalists believe that liquidity events will improve in 2013, they believe that
obtaining venture financing will be more difficult than in 2012, and that venture fundraising will
continue to be concentrated in fewer funds.

With Nasdaq up 16% in 2012 and continuing to increase in 2013, providing public companies more valuable
“currency” to make acquisitions, and with many corporations holding substantial cash reserves and public
company investors appearing to be more amenable to taking risk, there is good reason to believe that liquidity
options for venture backed companies will improve in 2013.

Venture Capital Investment.

Dow Jones VentureSource (“VentureSource”) reported that venture capitalists (including corporation
affiliated venture groups) invested $6.6 billion in 733 deals in the U.S. in 4Q12, a 4.6% decrease in dollars
and a 10.6% decrease in deals from the $6.9 billion invested in 820 deals in 3Q12 (as reported in October
2012).  For all of 2012 venture capitalists invested $29.7 billion in 3363 deals, a 9% decrease in dollars but
a 5% increase in deals compared to 2011, when venture capitalists invested $32.6 billion in 3209 deals (as
reported in January 2012).  In 4Q12 51% of U.S. venture investment went to companies based in California.
The PWC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Reuters (the “MoneyTree Report”)
reported similar results.  Venture investment in 4Q12 decreased 2% in dollars from 3Q12, with investment
of $6.4 billion in 968 deals compared to investment of $6.5 billion in 890 deals in 3Q12 (as reported in
October 2012).  For all of 2012 venture capitalists invested $26.5 billion in 3698 deals, a 7% decrease in
dollars from 2011, when $28.4 billion was invested in 3673 deals (as reported in January 2012).

The MoneyTree Report also reported that the strongest industry segment was software, where investment
increased by 10% in 2012 over 2011.  Life science was weak, with biotech investing down 15% and medical
device investing down 13%, and with life science first time financings at their lowest level since 1995.
Cleantech was down 28% and even internet investing was down 5% when compared to 2011, although
2012 was the second best year for internet investing since 2001.
Despite the weakness in life science generally, digital health investing is strong, with Rock Health reporting
a 45% increase from 2011 to 2012.

IPO Activity.

Dow Jones reported that 8 U.S. venture-backed companies went public in 4Q12 and raised $1.2 billion, a
decrease from the 10 IPOs in 3Q12, but an increase from the $0.8 billion raised in the 3Q12 IPOs.  In all of
2012, 50 U.S. venture-backed companies went public, a 10% increase from the 45 IPOs in 2011, thanks to a
strong first half of 2012.  The 2012 IPOs raised a total of $11.2 billion, the most since 2000, primarily due to
the $6.6 billion Facebook IPO, compared to $5.4 billion raised in 2011 IPOs.

Thomson/NVCA reported similar results for 4Q12 and 2012.  Five of the eight 4Q12 IPOs were in the IT
sector, and seven of the eight were based in the U.S., with the eighth from China.trends in terms of venture financings in silicon valley—fourth quarter 2012 3

Merger & Acquisition Activity.

Dow Jones reported that acquisitions (including buyouts) of U.S. venture-backed companies in 4Q12 totaled
$9.3 billion in 113 transactions, a 28% decline in dollars but a 14% increase in deals from the $13 billion
paid in 99 transactions in 3Q12 (as reported in October 2012).  For all of 2012 there were 433 acquisitions
for $40.3 billion, a 9% decrease in transactions and a 16% decrease in dollars from the 477 acquisitions for
$47.8 billion in 2011 (as reported in January 2012).

Thomson Reuters and the NVCA (“Thomson/NVCA”) reported 95 venture-backed acquisitions in 4Q12, a
1% decrease from the 96 reported in 3Q12, and 435 acquisitions in all of 2012, a 1% increase from the 429
reported in 2011 (as reported in January 2011).

Venture Capital Fundraising.

Dow Jones reported that 154 U.S. venture capital funds raised $20.3 billion in 2012, a 14% increase in funds
and a 25% increase in dollars from the 135 funds that raised $16.2 billion in 2011 (as reported in January
2012).  Eleven funds accounted for $11.3 billion of the $20.3 billion raised.  (Russ Garland, Venture Wire,
January 7, 2013)

Thomson/NVCA reported that 42 U.S. venture funds raised $3.3 billion in 4Q12, a 20% decrease in funds
and a 34% decrease in dollars from the 53 funds that raised $5.0 billion in 3Q12 (as reported in October
2012).  For all of 2012, 182 funds raised $20.6 billion, an 8% increase in funds and a 13% increase in
dollars from the 169 funds that raised $18.2 billion in 2011 (as reported in January 2012).
The number of members of the NVCA has declined from 470 in 2008 to 401 currently, a likely indication of
the shrinking number of venture firms.  (Russ Garland, VentureWire, January 28, 2013)

Corporate Investing.

As investments and fundraising by venture capitalists has had difficulties, corporate venture investing has
fared better.  According to the MoneyTree Report, the percentage of financings that included a corporate
investor increased to 15.2% in 2012, the third straight year of increase and the highest percentage since
the 2008 recession.

Notably, corporate investors tended to focus more on the industries that are currently least favored by
venture capitalists, participating in 20.5% of cleantech financings and 19.5% of biotech financings.
And corporate investors did not limit themselves to traditional venture investments.  For example, GE
(Healthymagination), Nike and Samsung have each announced the creation of, or other significant
involvement in, a start up accelerator, Rock Health has reported that Merck is a leading funder of digital
health startups and GlaxoSmithKline and Monsanto have each taken actions to increase their focus on
venture capital.

Angels and Accelerators.

There continues to be concern that the angel/accelerator environment has become frothy.  CB Insights
reported 1749 seed financing rounds in 2012, compared with just 472 in 2009, while Series A rounds grew
much more slowly, from 418 in 2009 to 692 in 2012, indicating that there will likely be a lot of seed funded trends in terms of venture financings in silicon valley—fourth quarter 2012 4 companies that won’t obtain Series A investment.  While this is not necessarily bad, as there is value to
making small bets on a lot of high risk opportunities, at some point the odds get too high.
Notably, Y Combinator announced in 4Q12 that the amount of money loaned to each of its companies
would be reduced from $150,000 to $80,000, and that the size of its class would also be reduced.  And
Polaris Venture Partners has indicated that it is significantly scaling back its “Dogpatch Labs” incubator.
However we do not see a trend yet here, as accelerators like TechStars and 500 Startups are not reducing
their size.  (Lizette Chapman, VentureWire, December 20, 2012).

Venture Capital Returns.

Cambridge Associates reported that the value of its venture capital index increased by 0.64% in 3Q12
(4Q12 information has not been publicly released) compared to a 6.17% increase for Nasdaq.  The venture
capital index substantially lagged Nasdaq for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2012, 7.69% to
29%, and for the ten-year period 6.07% to 10.27%.  The Cambridge Associates venture index is net of fees,
expenses and carried interest.  These type of results are, of course, a significant part of the reason why
venture fundraising has been difficult.

Venture Capital Sentiment.

The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists Confidence Index® by Professor Mark Cannice at the University of
San Francisco reported that the confidence level of Silicon Valley venture capitalists was 3.63 on a 5 point
scale in 4Q12, a slight increase from the 3.53 reported for 3Q12.

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Fenwick & West – Silicon Valley Venture Survey – Second Quarter 2012 by Barry Kramer and Michael Patrick

Posted in Fenwick & West, Silicon Valley, Venture Capital on August 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Silicon Valley Venture Survey – Second Quarter 2012

August 23, 2012

Background—We analyzed the terms of venture financings for 115 companies headquartered in Silicon Valley that raised money in the second quarter of 2012.

Overview of Fenwick & West Results

  • Up rounds exceeded down rounds in 2Q12, 74% to 11%, with 15% of rounds flat. This was better than 1Q12, when up rounds exceeded down rounds 65% to 22%, and the best quarter since 2007. Series B rounds were especially strong, although we note that the percentage of Series B financings in the survey has declined for three straight quarters, perhaps indicating that companies are having difficulty securing Series B funding, but those that do are being rewarded with substantial valuation increases. This was the twelfth quarter in a row in which up rounds exceeded down rounds.
  • The Fenwick & West Venture Capital Barometer™ showed an average price increase of 99% in 2Q12, an increase from 52% in 1Q12. This was the highest Barometer result since we began calculating the Barometer in 2004. That said, we note that there were two financings (one in the internet industry and one in the software industry) that were each up over 1000% (i.e. over 10x), and if they were excluded, the Barometer result would have been 70%. The median price increase in 2Q12 was 30%.
  • The results by industry are set forth below. In general, internet/digital media and software continued to be the strongest industries by far, with Barometer increases of 248% and 123% respectively (which would have been 176% and 86% respectively if the two aforementioned 10x deals were excluded). The median price increase for internet/digital media and software financings were 105% and 56%, respectively. Cleantech and life science trailed significantly.

Overview of Other Industry Data

    • Venture investment was up in the software and internet/digital media industries in 2Q12 versus 1Q12, while cleantech and life science lagged. However, overall venture funding in 2012 is modestly lagging 2011 to date.
    • M&A was up slightly in 2Q12 versus 1Q12, and 2012 is generally flat in dollars compared to 2011.
    • The number of IPOs was down in 2Q12 compared to 1Q12, but dollars raised were up, as the Facebook IPO dominated the quarter. 2012 is ahead of 2011 year to date.
    • Venture fundraising in dollars was up, but the number of funds raising money declined in 2Q12, compared to 1Q12. Fundraising in 2012 is ahead of 2011 in dollars.The venture environment continues to be a “tale of two cities” with software and internet/digital media thriving and life science and cleantech lagging. Additionally, we note that venture investment, M&A and IPOs have all returned to 2007 (pre financial industry meltdown) levels, but fundraising by venture capitalists continues to be significantly below those levels.

The effects of the increasing concentration of venture capital in fewer funds also bears watching. There are understandable reasons for this trend (capital moving to managers with the best results, early stage companies going global sooner and benefitting from venture capitalists with a more global reach) but this increased financial concentration could leave companies with fewer alternatives. However, the growth of super angels and micro VCs discussed below, and the commitment of some of the larger funds to continue making smaller investments, may offset this trend.

    • Venture Capital Investment.Dow Jones VentureSource (“VentureSource”) reported that U.S.-based companies raised $8.1 billion in 863 venture deals in 2Q12, a 31% increase in dollars and a 20% increase in deals compared to 1Q12, when $6.2 billion was raised in 717 deals (as reported in April 2012). However, investment in the first half of 2012 slightly lags the first half of 2011. Over half of all venture capital was invested in California in 2Q12, with 42% of the total in Northern California.

      Similarly, the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Reuters (the “MoneyTree Report”) reported $7.0 billion of venture investments in 898 deals in 2Q12, a 21% increase in dollars and a 18% increase in deals from the $5.8 billion invested in 758 deals in 1Q12 (as reported in April 2012). The MoneyTree reported that the software and internet industries were especially strong, while life science was weak.

    • Merger and Acquisitions Activity.Dow Jones reported 110 acquisitions of venture-backed companies in 2Q12 for $13.6 billion, a 7% increase in transaction dollars, and a 12% increase in transactions, from the 98 acquisitions for $12.7 billion in 1Q12 (as reported in July 2012 – the initial April 2012 numbers were subsequently revised substantially and so are not being used). The largest acquisition in the quarter was Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion.

      Thomson Reuters and the NVCA (“Thomson/NVCA”) reported 102 transactions in 2Q12, a 19% increase from the 86 transactions reported in 1Q12 (as reported in April 2012). IT companies dominated, with 77 of the 102 deals.

    • IPO Activity.VentureSource reported 11 venture-backed IPOs raising $7.7 billion in 2Q12 ($6.8 billion from Facebook), compared to 20 IPOs raising $1.4 billion in 1Q12 (as reported in April 2012). 72% of the companies going public were based in Silicon Valley, as opposed to 35% in 1Q12.

      Similarly, Thomson/NVCA reported 11 IPOs raising $17.1 billion in 2Q12 ($15.8 billion from Facebook) compared to 19 IPOs raising $1.5 billion in 1Q12. (It appears that Thomson/NVCA includes shares sold by shareholders in the IPO amount, while VentureSource does not.) Nine of the eleven IPOs were IT companies and all were U.S. based.

    • Venture Capital Fundraising.Dow Jones reported that for the first half of 2012, 82 U.S. venture capital funds raised $13 billion, a 31% increase in dollars over the first half of 2011.

      Thomson/NVCA reported that 38 U.S. venture capital funds raised $5.9 billion in 2Q12, a 20% increase in dollar commitments and a 10% decrease in the number of funds compared to the $4.9 billion raised by 42 funds in 1Q12 (as reported in April 2012). The top 5 funds accounted for almost 80% of the total fundraising in the quarter. Mark Heesen, President of the NVCA, noted that this concentration of capital in fewer funds has narrowed the field of venture funds for both entrepreneurs seeking venture capital, and limited partners looking to invest in venture capital.

      Some traditional investors in venture capital are also indicating a reduction in commitment to the asset class when they cannot get into the best funds. For example, the Mercury News has reported that CalPERS will likely decrease its venture commitment from 6% of its private equity portfolio to 1%, due to poor returns on its investments. And the Kauffman Foundation has indicated similar plans (see “Kauffman Foundation Venture Capital Report” below).

      Venture fundraising by venture capital funds in 2Q12 was again less than the amount of venture capital invested in companies in the quarter.

      The SBA, after 8 years out of the market, has recently allocated $1 billion over the next five years to increase access to early stage venture capital – i.e. companies looking to raise $1‑4 million.  Early stage venture funds can borrow from the SBA an amount equal to what they can raise privately.

    • Secondary Trading.Secondary trading was estimated to be $10 billion in 2011.  The Venture Capital Journal reported that 80% of such trading occurred in negotiated one-on-one transactions (as opposed to on secondary exchanges), and that half of late stage primary financings included a secondary component, triple the amount from five years ago.

      That said, secondary exchanges had a good year in 2011, with Second Market reporting $558 million in trades and SharesPost reporting $625 million.  However, with the IPOs of Zynga, LinkedIn, GroupOn and now Facebook, it seems doubtful that secondary exchange trading of other venture-backed companies will be able to take up the slack in 2012.  Some exchanges are working to address this by proactively working with late stage companies to facilitate liquidity arrangements for the companies’ employees and early stage investors with the exchange’s investor base.

      In general, it seems that late stage companies are becoming more comfortable with secondary sales, and are leaning towards negotiated sales where information provided to investors can remain confidential, the purchasers are known and the transaction can be combined with a primary sale, if desired.

    • Seed Investment.Although concern continues that the valuations of seed stage companies are getting frothy, the expansion of the accelerator/incubator model continues.  Accelerators focused on Swiss, Danish, Israeli and German entrepreneurs have each been started in the past year, or are in the process of being started, in Silicon Valley.  And General Catalyst Partners has joined Yuri Milner, SV Angel and Andreesen Horowitz in the Start Fund which commits to loan $150,000 to each Y Combinator company (foregoing information from Venture Wire).

      Additionally, the two most active venture capitalists in 2Q12 were 500 Startups and First Round Capital (tied for second with NEA), both of whom are seed investors.  (VentureSource)

      And perhaps most interestingly, a significant number of super angels/micro VCs are seeking to raise larger funds or taking on LPs, which if successful could act as a counterweight to the decreasing number of venture capital funds (Venture Capital Journal).

    • The Kauffman Foundation Venture Capital Report.In May 2012 the respected Kauffman Foundation issued a report that concluded, based on their 20 year history of venture investing experience in nearly 100 funds, that “the Limited Partner investment model is broken.”  The report based its conclusion on, among other things, poor returns from most venture funds, incentives for managers to create larger funds to increase management fees, the increasing length of life of venture funds and the relatively small amounts invested personally by many fund managers.  It recommended that limited partners require a better alignment of interests between LPs and GPs, more transparency and better governance provisions.

      The Kauffman Foundation has indicated that it intends to focus its future venture investment in funds of less than $400 million, with historical performance above what could be achieved in equivalent public market funds (which it believes are better performance measures than IRR, top quartile, vintage year and gross return measurements), and in which GPs commit at least 5% of the capital.  They also plan to increase their direct investing and to move a portion of their capital allocated to venture capital into the public markets, as they do not believe that there are enough strong venture capitalists to absorb the available capital.

      Other suggestions from the Kauffman report include (i) that management fees should be based on a budget, not a percentage of funds under management, (ii) that investors should receive their funds back plus a preferred return before venture capitalists share in profits, and (iii) that there should be more transparency in how the venture capital management company is structured to understand how the individual venture capitalists are incented.

    • Venture Capital Return.Cambridge Associates reported that the value of its venture capital index increased by 4.7% in 1Q12 (2Q12 information has not been publicly released) compared to 18.7% for Nasdaq, although for the 12 month period ended March 31, 2012, the venture capital index was up 12.8%, which slightly beat Nasdaq which was up 11.2%.  The Cambridge venture index is net of fees, expenses and carried interest.

      For the ten years ended March 31, 2012 the Cambridge venture capital index was up 4.4% per year, while Nasdaq was up 5.30%.

    • Venture Capital Sentiment.The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® produced by Professor Mark Cannice at the University of San Francisco reported that the confidence level of Silicon Valley venture capitalists was 3.47 on a 5-point scale in 2Q12, a decrease from the 3.79 reported in 1Q12.  Reasons given for the decrease in confidence were primarily macro oriented (global economy, life science regulation), as there was general agreement that the entrepreneurial environment viewed in isolation was strong.

      The Deloitte/NVCA Global Confidence Survey reported that global venture capitalists were most confident about the prospects of the cloud computing, software, new media, healthcare IT and consumer businesses (in order of higher confidence to lower) and were least confident about the medical device, financial services, biopharmaceuticals, cleantech, telecom and semiconductor industries (in order of higher confidence to lower).

  • Nasdaq.
    Nasdaq decreased 4.9% in 2Q12, but has increased 2.8% in 3Q12 through August 10, 2012.

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Silicon Valley Venture Survey – First Quarter 2012

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, boic, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Fenwick & West, Investments, Market research, Strategy, tagged , , , , , , , on May 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Article from Fenwick & West.

Background—We analyzed the terms of venture financings for 114 companies headquartered in Silicon Valley that reported raising money in the first quarter of 2012.

Overview of Fenwick & West Results

  • Up rounds exceeded down rounds in 1Q12, 65% to 22%, with 13% of rounds flat. This showed continued solid valuations in the venture environment, although a small drop off from 3Q11 and 4Q11, when 70% of rounds were up rounds. This was the eleventh quarter in a row in which up rounds exceeded down rounds.
  • The Fenwick & West Venture Capital Barometer™ showed an average price increase of 52% in 1Q12, a decline from the 85% reported in 4Q11, but still a solid showing.
  • We note some weakness in late stage financing (Series E and higher) valuations, where 37% of the financings were down rounds and the Barometer reported only a 12% increase. Series B financings were also not as frothy as they have been, with a Barometer reading of 58%, the lowest since 4Q09, but still very solid.

The results by industry are set forth below. In general software and digital media/internet companies continued to see the strongest valuation increases, with hardware and life sciences lagging.

Overview of Other Industry Data

  • Venture valuations were healthy, but investment was down.
  • M&A valuations were up, but the number of deals was down.
  • Venture fundraising was mixed, but corporate venture investing was up.
  • IPOs were up, and the passage of the JOBS Act is a further encouraging signal for the public market, but continuing global financial uncertainty, especially in Europe, is a concern.

So what is the take-away? Venture fundraising continues to be problematic, and likely contributed to the decreased venture investment the last two quarters. However with IPOs improving, and interest rates still extremely low, there is reason to believe that venture fundraising will improve, if the global economic environment doesn’t further increase risk averseness. The M&A market slowed a bit in 1Q12, possibly to give participants a chance to evaluate the improvement in IPOs, and its possible effect on valuations, but corporate America has plenty to spend, evidenced by their increasing participation in venture investment. And the areas of entrepreneurial focus and innovation are broad, with mobile, cloud, security, big data and of course social media all attracting substantial attention.

Venture Capital Investment.

  • Venture capital investment in the U.S. declined for the second quarter in a row, with the decline evident in most major industry segments, including internet/digital media.
  • Dow Jones VentureSource (“VentureSource”) reported $6.2 billion of venture investment in 717 deals in 1Q12, a 16% decline in dollars from the $7.4 billion invested in 803 deals in 4Q11 (as reported in January 2012).
  • The PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Reuters (the “MoneyTree Report”) reported $5.8 billion of venture investment in 758 deals in 1Q12, a 12% decline from the $6.6 billion invested in 844 deals in 4Q11 (as reported in January 2012).

Merger and Acquisitions Activity.

  • M&A activity for venture-backed companies had mixed results in 1Q12, with deal volume declining for the second quarter in a row, to the lowest quarterly amount since 2009, but with Dow Jones reporting a significant increase in deal proceeds.
  • Dow Jones reported 94 acquisitions of venture-backed companies in 1Q12 for $18.1 billion, a 12% decline in transaction volume, but a 93% increase in dollars, from the 107 transactions for $9.4 billion in 4Q11 (as reported in January 2012).
  • Thomson Reuters and the NVCA (“Thomson/NVCA”) reported 86 transactions in 1Q12, a 7% decline from the 92 reported in 4Q11 (as reported in January 2012). Sixty-eight of the 86 deals were in the IT sector.
  • Dealogic reported that Google, Facebook, Groupon and Zynga purchased a combined 34 companies in 1Q12 (not necessarily all venture-backed).

IPO Activity.

  • IPO activity for venture-backed companies improved again in 1Q12, which was the best quarter for number of IPOs since 4Q07.
  • VentureSource reported 20 venture-backed IPOs raising $1.4 billion in 1Q12, compared to 10 IPOs raising $2.4 billion in 4Q11 (as reported in January 2012). There were 50 companies in registration at the end of the quarter.

We note that the new law that permits confidential IPO filings may delay future information on the number of companies in registration, as a substantial number of companies appear to be taking advantage of this alternative.

Thomson/NVCA reported 19 IPOs for $1.5 billion in 1Q12, compared to 12 IPOs raising $2.6 billion in 4Q11. Eleven of the IPOs were in IT and five in healthcare, and 95% were U.S.-based companies.

Venture Capital Fundraising.

  • Industry sources reported conflicting fundraising results for 1Q12, with Dow Jones reporting an increase in dollars raised and Thomson/NVCA reporting a decline. Taking an average of the two, venture capital fundraising and venture capital investing were approximately equal this quarter, but the number of funds raising money continues to be low.
  • Dow Jones reported that 47 U.S. venture funds raised $7 billion in 1Q12, a 35% increase in dollars over the $5.2 billion that was raised in 4Q11 (as reported in January 2012).

Thomson/NVCA reported that 42 U.S. venture capital funds raised $4.9 billion in 1Q12, a 13% decrease in dollars over the $5.6 billion raised by 38 U.S. funds in 4Q12 (as reported in January 2012). The top 5 fundraisers accounted for 75% of the total amount raised, with Andreessen Horowitz raising $1.5 billion and leading the way.

Secondary Markets.

  • The secondary market for venture-backed company shares is in uncharted waters.
  • The recently passed JOBS Act made filing for an IPO more appealing to companies, which could decrease the number of late stage private companies whose shares would be available for secondary trading. However, the Act also increased the maximum number of shareholders that private companies could have before registering with the SEC, which allows private companies to stay private longer, which could increase the pool of late stage private companies whose shares would be available for secondary trading.
  • Additionally, Facebook, which accounted for a large percentage of the trading on secondary exchanges, and whose shares were also purchased by secondary funds, just went public, and secondary trading of their shares ended at the end of March 2012.
  • And the venture-backed IPO market seems to be improving in general, providing more opportunity for late stage private companies to go public.
  • Second Market reported that issuers were the buyer in 54% of second market transactions, but only accounted for 1.7% of transaction proceeds, suggesting that issuers are using Second Market to purchase small amounts of shares from numerous sellers, likely to limit their number of shareholders.

Corporate Venture Capital.

  • With a challenging venture fundraising environment, we thought it would be useful to provide some information on corporate venture capital (“CVC”).
  • In general, CVC declined precipitously in 2009 as a result of the stock market decline and global financial problems in 2008. Since then it has rebounded significantly with corporate venture investment increasing from $1.4 billion in 2009 to $2.0 billion in 2010 to $2.3 billion in 2011. Similarly, CVCs participated in 12.7% of all venture deals in 2009, 13.6% in 2010 and 14.9% in 2011. That said, these amounts significantly lag 2007, the best year for CVC in the past decade, when CVCs invested $2.6 billion and participated in 19% of deals (data from the MoneyTree Report).
  • While companies like Intel and Cisco have long been significant players in CVC investing, it will be interesting to see how heavily the current wave of major Silicon Valley companies participate in CVC. One indiciation is that Google started Google Ventures two years ago with the goal of investing $100 million a year, and has invested in 20 start-ups through March 2012. (Data from San Jose Mercury)
  • Another indication of CVC activity is that the number of CVCs who are members of the NVCA has grown from 50 to 62 members in the past year, and now comprises 7% of the total membership. (Data from Dow Jones VentureWire)
  • CVC investment seems more focused in industries with large capital requirements like cleantech and biotech, which accounted for 23% and 16% of CVC investment respectively in 2010/2011, than are independent venture capitalists. (Data from the MoneyTree Report)

Venture Capital Sentiment.

The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® produced by Professor Mark Cannice at the University of San Francisco reported that the confidence level of Silicon Valley venture capitalists was 3.79 on a 5 point sale in 1Q12, a significant increase from the 3.27 reported in 4Q11, and the first increase in four quarters.

Nasdaq.
Nasdaq increased 16% in 1Q12, but has declined 10% in 2Q12 through May 21.

Read more here.

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Trends in Terms of Venture Financings In Silicon Valley (Third Quarter 2011)

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, Business models, Economy, Fenwick & West, Gerbsman Partners, Intellectual capital, Investments, IPO news, Market research, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from Fenwick & West LLP.

Background —We analyzed the terms of venture financings for 113 companies headquartered in Silicon Valley that reported raising money in the third quarter of 2011.

Overview of Fenwick & West Results

  • Up rounds exceeded down rounds in 3Q11 70% to 15%, with 15% of rounds flat.  This was an increase from 2Q11 when up rounds exceeded down rounds 61% to 25%, with 14% of rounds flat.  Series B rounds were exceptionally strong, comprising 38% of the relevant rounds (Series A rounds aren’t included as there is no prior round for comparison purposes), and 89% of the Series B rounds were up rounds.  This was the ninth quarter in a row in which up rounds exceeded down rounds.
  • The Fenwick & West Venture Capital Barometer™ showed an average price increase of 69% in 3Q11, a slight decrease from the 71% increase registered in 2Q11.  However, we note that one internet/digital media company had a 1,500% up round, and that if such round was excluded the Barometer would have been 54%.  This was also the ninth quarter in a row in which the Barometer was positive.
  • Interpretive Comment regarding the Barometer. When interpreting the Barometer results please bear in mind that the results reflect the average price increase of companies raising money this quarter compared to their prior round of financing, which was in general 12‑18 months prior.  Given that venture capitalists (and their investors) generally look for at least a 20% IRR to justify the risk that they are taking, and that by definition we are not taking into account those companies that were unable to raise a new financing (and that likely resulted in a loss to investors), a Barometer increase in the 30-40% range should be considered normal.
  • The results by industry are set forth below.  In general internet/digital media was the clear valuation leader, followed by software, cleantech and hardware, with life science continuing to lag.
Overview of Other Industry Data

  • After 2Q11 there was reason to believe that the venture environment was improving, but the results were more mixed in 3Q11.  While the amount invested by venture capitalists in 3Q11 was healthy, the amount raised by venture capitalists was significantly off the pace set in the first half of the year.  As a result, venture capitalists are continuing to invest significantly more than they raise, an unsustainable situation (and one that perhaps provides increased opportunities for angels and corporate investors).  IPOs also decreased significantly in 3Q11, although M&A activity was up.  The internet/digital media industry continued to lead, while life science continued to lag.

    However there are some clouds on the horizon, as the Silicon Valley Venture Capital Confidence Index declined for only the second time in 11 quarters, there are reports of a number of IPOs being recently postponed and the world financial environment is undergoing substantial turbulence.

    Detailed results from third-party publications are as follows:

    • Venture Capital Investment. Venture capitalists (including corporation-affiliated venture groups) invested $8.4 billion in 765 deals in the U.S. in 3Q11, a 5% increase in dollars over the $8.0 billion invested in 776 deals reported for 2Q11 in July 2011, according to Dow Jones Venture Source (“VentureSource”).  The largest Silicon Valley investments in 3Q11 were Twitter and Bloom Energy, which were also two of the three largest nationwide.  Northern California received 38% of all U.S. venture investment in 3Q11.

      The PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Reuters (the “MoneyTree Report”) reported slightly different results – that venture capitalists invested $7.0 billion in 876 deals in 3Q11, a 7% decrease in dollars over the $7.5 billion invested in 966 deals reported in July 2011 for 2Q11.  Investments in software companies were at their highest quarterly level since 4Q01, at $2.0 billion; investments in internet companies fell to $1.6 billion after the ten year high of $2.4 billion reported in 2Q11, and life science and cleantech investments fell 18% and 13% respectively from 2Q11.

      Overall, venture capital investment in 2011 is on track to exceed the amount invested in 2010 according to both VentureSource and the MoneyTree Report.

    • Merger and Acquisition Activity. Acquisitions (including buyouts) of U.S. venture-backed companies in 3Q11 totaled $13 billion in 122 deals, a 33% increase in dollar terms from the $9.8 billion paid in 100 deals reported in July 2011 for 2Q11, according to Dow Jones.  The information and enterprise technology sectors had the most acquisitions, and the acquisition of PopCap Games by Electronic Arts for $750 million was the largest acquisition of the quarter.

      Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (“Thomson/NVCA”) also reported an increase in M&A transactions, from 79 in 2Q11 (as reported in July 2011) to 101 in 3Q11.

    • Initial Public Offerings.  Dow Jones reported that 10 U.S. venture-backed companies went public in 3Q11, raising $0.5 billion, a significant decrease from the 14 IPOs raising $1.7 billion in 2Q11.  Perhaps of greater concern is that six of the IPOs occurred in July, with only four in the latter two months of the quarter, and half of the 10 companies went public on non-U.S. exchanges (one each on AIM, Australia and Tokyo, two on Taiwan).  By comparison, all 25 companies going public in the first half of 2011 went public on U.S. exchanges.

      Similarly, Thomson/NVCA reported that only five U.S. venture-backed companies went public in the U.S. in 3Q11 (they do not include offerings on foreign exchanges), raising $0.4 billion, a substantial decrease from the 22 IPOs raising $5.5 billion reported in 2Q11.  This was the lowest IPO level in seven quarters.  Of the five IPOs, four of the companies were based in the U.S. and one in China, and four were IT-focused and one was life science-focused.  The largest of the IPOs was China-based Tudou, raising $0.2 billion.

      At the end of 3Q11, 64 U.S. venture-backed companies were in registration to go public, an increase from 46 in registration at the end of 2Q11.

    • Venture Capital Fundraising. Dow Jones reported that U.S. venture capital funds raised $2.2 billion in 3Q11, a significant decline from the $8.1 billion raised in the first half of 2011.  2011 is on track to be the fourth year in a row in which venture capital fundraising will be less than investments made by venture capitalists, and by over $30 billion in the aggregate.

      Similarly, Thomson/NVCA reported that U.S. venture capital funds raised $1.7 billion in 3Q11, a substantial dollar decrease from the $2.7 billion reported raised by 37 funds in 2Q11.

    • Venture Capital Returns. According to the Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Index®, U.S. venture capital funds achieved a 26% return for the 12-month period ending 2Q11, less than the Nasdaq return of 31% (not including any dividends) during that period.  Note that this information is reported with a one quarter lag.
    • Sentiment. The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® produced by Professor Mark Cannice at the University of San Francisco reported that the confidence level of Silicon Valley venture capitalists was 3.41 on a 5 point scale, a decrease from the 3.66 result reported for 2Q11, and the second quarter of decrease in a row.  Venture capitalists expressed concerns due to the macro economic environment, the uncertain exit environment, high company valuations and regulatory burdens.  The divergence between the internet/digital media industry, which has performed well, and the lagging life science industry, was also noted.
    • Nasdaq. Nasdaq decreased 13% in 3Q11, but has increased 10% in 4Q11 through November 14, 2011.

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Venture Capital Survey Silicon Valley Second Quarter 2011 – by Fenwick & West

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, boic, Business models, Economy, Fenwick & West, Investments, Market research, tagged , , , , on August 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from Fenwick & West. For additional information about this report please contact Barry Kramer at 650-335-7278; bkramer@fenwick.com or Michael Patrick at 650-335-7273; mpatrick@fenwick.com at Fenwick & West.

Background —We analyzed the terms of venture financings for 117 companies headquartered in Silicon Valley that reported raising money in the second quarter of 2011.
Overview of Fenwick & West Results

Up rounds exceeded down rounds in 2Q11 61% to 25%, with 14% of rounds flat.  Although this was a slight decline from 1Q11, when up rounds exceeded down rounds 67% to 16%, with 17% of rounds flat, it was still a very healthy performance.  This was the eighth quarter in a row in which up rounds exceeded down rounds.

The Fenwick & West Venture Capital Barometer showed an average price increase of 71% in 2Q11, up from the 52% increase registered in 1Q11.  This was the best barometer result since 2007, and was also the eighth quarter in a row in which the Barometer was positive.

Interpretive Comment regarding the Barometer.  When interpreting the Barometer results please bear in mind that the results reflect the average price increase of companies raising money this quarter compared to their prior round of financing, which was in general 12‑18 months prior.  Given that venture capitalists (and their investors) generally look for at least a 20% IRR to justify the risk that they are taking, and that by definition we are not taking into account those companies that were unable to raise a new financing (and that likely resulted in a loss to investors), a Barometer increase in the 30-40% range should be considered normal.  Our average Barometer reading since 1Q04, when we began calculating the Barometer, through 2Q11, has been 40%.  We would expect such amount to be slightly higher than “normal”, as the earlier years reflect the recovery from the dotcom bubble bust

The results by industry are set forth below.  In general, software and internet/digital media industries had the best valuation-related results by a substantial amount in 2Q11, followed by the hardware and cleantech industries, while the life science industry continued to lag.

The second quarter of 2011 was generally a strong quarter for the venture capital industry, with the most notable result being an improved IPO market.  The amount invested by venture capitalists in 2Q11 was also solid.  Fundraising by venture capitalists showed a significant decline from the very strong 1Q11 results, but was still reasonable in dollar terms.  Merger and acquisition activity was somewhat lower, perhaps as participants sought to understand the effect of the stronger IPO market.

However there are some clouds on the horizon, as the Silicon Valley Venture Capital Confidence Index declined for only the second time in 11 quarters, Nasdaq has had a very poor 3Q11 to date, there are reports of a number of IPOs being recently postponed and the world financial environment is undergoing substantial turbulence.

Detailed results from third-party publications are as follows:

Venture Capital Investment. Venture capitalists (including corporation affiliated venture groups) invested $8.0 billion in 776 deals in the U.S. in 2Q11, a 20% increase in dollars over the $6.4 billion invested in 661 deals reported for 1Q11 in April 2011, according to Dow Jones VentureSource (“VentureSource”).  VentureSource also reported that $2.9 billion of such amount, or 36%, was invested in Silicon Valley-based companies.

Similarly, the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomson Reuters (the “MoneyTree Report”) reported that venture capitalists invested $7.5 billion in 966 deals in 2Q11, a 27% increase in dollars over the $5.9 billion invested in 736 deals reported in April 2011 for 1Q11.  The MoneyTree Report noted that investments in internet companies was at its highest quarterly level since 2001.

Merger and Acquisition Activity. Acquisitions of U.S. venture-backed companies in 2Q11 totaled $9.5 billion in 95 deals, a slight decrease from the $9.8 billion in 104 deals reported in April 2011 for 1Q11, according to VentureSource.  Of the 2Q11 deals, 8 were private/private transactions, perhaps indicating a growing acquisition ability and interest of later stage private companies.

Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (“Thompson/NVCA”) also reported a decrease in M&A transactions, from 109 in 1Q11 (as reported in April 2011) to 79 in 2Q11.  Of the 79 reported transactions in 2Q11, 56 were in the IT industry, but the largest was in the pharmaceutical industry where Daiichi Sankyo bought Berkeley-based Plexxikon for $805 million.

Initial Public Offerings. VentureSource reported that 14 venture-backed companies went public in 2Q11, raising $1.7 billion, a noticeable increase from the 11 IPOs raising $700 million reported in 1Q11.

Thompson/NVCA reported that 22 venture-backed companies went public in the U.S. in 2Q11, raising $5.5 billion, a substantial increase over the 14 IPOs raising $1.4 billion reported in 1Q11.  Of the 22 IPOs, 14 were based in the U.S. and 5 in China, and 14 were in the IT industry with 11 of those being internet focused.  The largest of the IPOs was Russian-based Yandex raising $1.3 billion.

At the end of 2Q11 46 U.S. venture-backed companies were in registration to go public, similar to the 45 in registration at the end of 1Q11.

Venture Capital Fundraising. Thompson/NVCA reported that 37 venture funds raised $2.7 billion in 2Q11, a significant decline from the $7.6 billion raised by 42 funds in 1Q11.  However, 1Q11 was the highest first quarter for fundraising since 2001, and 2Q11 was 28% higher (in dollars) than 2Q10.  Also the first half of 2011 saw 67% more funds raised than the first half of 2Q10, but a 15% decrease in the number of venture funds closing fundings.

VentureSource provided consistent results, reporting that U.S. venture funds raised $8.1 billion in the first half of 2011, a 20% increase in dollars over the first half of 2010.  VentureSource noted that only 7 funds raised 77% of the $8.1 billion.

Venture Capital Returns. According to the Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Index® U.S. venture capital funds achieved an 18.5% return for the 12-month period ending 1Q11, slightly higher than the Nasdaq return of 16% (not including any dividends) during that period.  Note that this information is reported with a one-quarter delay.

Sentiment. The Silicon Valley Venture Capital Confidence Index produced by Professor Mark Cannice at the University of San Francisco reported that the confidence level of Silicon Valley venture capitalists was 3.66 on a 5 point scale, a decrease from the 3.91 result reported for 1Q11.  Venture capitalists expressed concerns due to macroeconomic trends, high venture valuations, uneven capital availability and life science regulatory constraints.

Nasdaq. Nasdaq increased 1% in 2Q11, but has decreased 9% in 3Q11 through August 15, 2011.

For additional information about this report please contact Barry Kramer at 650-335-7278; bkramer@fenwick.com or Michael Patrick at 650-335-7273; mpatrick@fenwick.com at Fenwick & West.

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