金融英语阅读辅导：美国创业投资继续增长

会计考友

　　因首次股票公开发行(IPO)持续增加，今年上半年向初创企业(start-ups)的注资增长了21%。
　　据周一公布的一份报告称，与去年同期相比，美国创业资本投资人今年上半年对新兴企业的投资增加了21%。据安永会计师行(Ernst & Young)和资讯服务商VentureOne跟踪的数据显示，南加州的创业投资仅增长2%。该地企业在87例交易中吸收了9.99亿美元，去年同期为9.82亿美元。该地区二季度投资从一季度的6.34亿美元回落到3.65亿美元。
　　这份季度报告称，全美二季度创业投资持稳，期间吸收了51亿美元投资。创业投资者在今年头6个月中向967家公司中投资了102亿美元。全美创业市场核心，硅谷内的企业在上半年共筹集38亿美元，高于去年同期的31亿美元。
　　U.S. venture capitalists stepped up their investments in emerging companies by 21% in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, according to a report being issued today.
$ Z7 h  b9 x7 k　　In Southern California, however, venture investing rose only 2%, data trackers Ernst & Young and VentureOne said. Southland companies landed about $999 million in 87 deals, compared with about $982 million in the first half of last year.
4 }4 K5 {/ b8 ?" j2 h　　The report, issued quarterly, shows that nationwide venture investing held steady in the latest period, with $5.1 billion invested from April 1 through June 30.
　　For the first six months, venture capitalists invested $10.2 billion in 967 companies.
　　In the Southland, investments fell to $365 million in the second quarter from $634 million in the first quarter. But analysts cautioned against making too much of that swing, chalking it up to normal volatility in a region that represents only about 10% of the national market.
　　The first-half figures for Southern California offer a better comparison, analysts said, and are on par with numbers for the first half of last year.
, p4 r; |+ Z% K+ W- p+ Q' ?' H　　Venture capitalists buy stakes in start-up companies, hoping to cash in when the firms go public through an initial stock offering or are bought by a larger company. Most of these fledgling enterprises fizzle out, but venture investors can score big from a few homeruns.
# x% u# z7 n8 m. T- T　　Analysts say the pickup in venture capital investments nationally is linked to a resurgence in initial public offerings. Eighty-nine companies went public in the first half, raising $16 billion, including $8.8 billion in the second quarter. By comparison, there were only six IPOs, worth a total of $1.2 billion, in the first half of 2003.

　　Nationally, two trends within the venture market emerged during the second quarter, analysts said.
- R& {' Z: w# L: d3 n3 `! ]7 G　　The tech segment reaped its largest outlay of venture capital in two years, with $3 billion invested. And early-stage financings rose nationally, with 157 so-called seed and first-round deals representing 32% of the 492 total transactions.
5 ~) R7 q0 l: K, d) ]　　Over the last two years, such early financings have accounted for about 28% of the totals — a sign that wary venture investors have been reluctant to fund the youngest and least-proven companies.
3 c$ E+ m6 J  c" U6 J' Q' V　　"We're seeing some very good deals now — not as many deals as during the [late 1990s tech] bubble, but the management teams are stronger," said Harry Lambert, managing director at InnoCal Venture Capital in Costa Mesa. "They're watching their cash, and they know what they're doing."
! A" Z, A0 _7 ~3 x0 w　　In the second quarter, his firm invested in Hawthorne-based Siderean Software, which raised $6 million in early-stage financing. Lambert described Siderean's products as Internet "search engines on steroids."
　　Overall, analysts said the pickup in U.S. venture financings was steady — a far cry from the record year of 2000, when $94.5 billion was rung up. Still, financings are on course to top last year, when the total fell to $18.4 billion.
6 [+ K  `5 a' B; T9 b$ E　　"It's a healthy pace right now, not another bubble," said Gil Forer, global director of Ernst & Young's venture capital advisory group. "Investors know what they're looking for and entrepreneurs are sophisticated. There's a balance in the market."
　　Although Southern California financings were fairly flat in the first half, deals in the Los Angeles area rose to $321 million, up from $268 million for the same period in 2003, the Ernst & Young report showed.

会计考友

　　Major Southland deals included:
1 L! ~5 t- u; X; C) K6 G  W　　? $27 million for Idun Pharmaceuticals Inc. of San Diego, which is creating drugs to treat liver disease and other ailments;
　　? $15 million for Vantage Oncology Inc. of El Segundo, which is developing new radiation treatments;
　　? $12 million for Accruent Inc. of Santa Monica, which makes enterprise software for managing contracts.
　　In Silicon Valley, hub of the nation's venture market, companies raised $3.8 billion in the first half, up from $3.1 billion a year ago.</p>