IVCA Releases Q2 Private Equity Monitor reviewing Venture & Private Equity Investments
Chicago, August 7, 2008 – Venture capital investment in Illinois rose to $135.8 million in the second quarter, up 50.6 percent from the first quarter of the year, when state companies received $90.2 million in venture investment funds, according to the Illinois Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Reuters’ VentureXpert. Nineteen companies received funds in the second quarter compared to 18 in the first quarter, and 22 companies received a total of $82.1 million in the second quarter of 2007. Funds raised by Illinois companies in the second quarter were slightly below the five-year quarterly average of $141.1 million.
Illinois companies ranked 14th in the country in the amount of venture capital investment for the second quarter well below Ohio companies which raised the most funds at slightly more than $7 billion for the quarter. For the first half of the year, Illinois ranked 15th with $226 million invested in state companies. California companies raised the most funds in the first half, at $8.7 billion.
Information Technology investment in Illinois took a big jump in the second quarter. Ten companies received a total of $124.5 million, up nearly 400 percent from the first quarter and above the second quarter pace last year of $40.7 million. IT investment in the second quarter also surpassed the five-year quarterly average of $57.7 million. Venture capital investment in Healthcare companies slipped, however, with three companies raising $4.5 million, below the first quarter total of $19.8 million and the five-year quarterly average of $26.3 million. One of the single largest investments of the quarter ($26 million) went to Initiate Systems – a data management software and solutions company backed by several IVCA members.
Investment in Illinois “green” companies also jumped in the second period of the year, with four companies receiving $14.8 million in venture capital funds. The quarterly total surpassed full year totals for every year since 2003. Green company investments include investments in companies involved in such industries as battery manufacturing, alternative energy sources, energy conservation, recycling, as well as biotech processes for pollution, toxic waste control and oil recovery. Including in the numbers is Tetravitae BioScience Inc. backed by IllinoisVentures. Tetravitae develops and commercializes alternative fuels through biomass conversion. The Company focuses on the fields of process engineering, synthetic biology, reaction management, and hyper-productive feedstocks. TetraVitae specifically focuses on butanol production.
Buyout capital investment in Illinois companies in the quarter almost doubled from the first period, totaling $224.7 million for the quarter compared to $116.2 million in the first quarter and $122.8 million in the second quarter of 2007. The pace of buyout investment lagged behind the five-year quarterly average of $272.5 million.
Nationwide, Illinois ranked 12th in the amount of buyout capital invested in states. New York ranked first with $2.8 billion in buyout capital investments.
