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%。
& T* x5 Q$ g# H+ ^ 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。+ B3 D+ f4 V: }) O
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。" P3 b* B& f _9 F0 H
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. O7 j8 d* s" U R/ v4 R _
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.
7 [% _ p6 v' A* D( w- p2 ~' x 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.
; S* n; _! V, ^2 {% b2 E5 V For the first six months, venture capitalists invested $10.2 billion in 967 companies.
3 y3 d' j* I, k+ L7 E6 e$ ]% F 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.
4 i% D! V- i3 O/ g" Y" J 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.' y" B; Y( i2 l3 g. }
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.
8 R: B, v, m% b3 L& j0 l3 O 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 $1.2 billion, in the first half of 2003.! S9 _$ Y& r. s9 L0 E+ ^% t
/ `2 v# ]4 X, m/ {" H Nationally, two trends within the venture market emerged during the second quarter, analysts said.; y4 A7 X# N0 y
The tech segment reaped its largest outlay of venture capital in two years, with $3 billion invested. And early-stage financings rose nationally, with 157 so-called seed and first-round deals representing 32% of the 492 total transactions.
4 Z/ W! V7 \3 c. s) Z' t2 ?9 }- j Over the last two years, such early financings have accounted for about 28% of the totals — a sign that wary venture investors have been reluctant to fund the youngest and least-proven companies.
/ ^& S9 H3 v }$ u9 s, N$ W "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."
. b( v0 ] B2 P; ] 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."
$ j/ T% h, [% }! I5 N/ |( i/ q 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.
]7 K- B4 y, ]( 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." |* G) S! q9 K( F7 v2 h+ M H- |
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. |