A strong final quarter saw corporate venturing deal activity reach nearly a fifth of the overall US venture capital market.
The US’s National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its MoneyTree Report, using data from Thomson Reuters, estimated there were 123 American deals involving corporate venturing units in the final three months of last year. This was 16.1% of the overall 764 venture capital deals tracked by Thomson Reuters.
Global Corporate Venturing data estimated 152 US deals (19.1% of the US VC market) out of 203 round the world in the fourth quarter, although Thomson Reuters reportedly excludes deals, such as healthcare firm PhysioSonics’, without an independent venture capital firm in the consortium. (Click here for table.)
The PwC and NVCA’s report showed 462 US deals with a corporate venturing involvement last year, 14.3% of the 3,276 investment rounds in the broader VC industry, which celebrates its 65th anniversary in April in Boston at an event organised by the NVCA (pictured, click here for link to conference website).
This proportion was up on 2009’s levels, although lower in absolute numbers and proportion than in 2007 and 2008. Two years ago, corporate venturing units invested in 389 deals, 13.3% of the 2,927 in the wider VC market, PwC and NVCA said. In 2007 and 2008, corporate venturing units completed 774 and 800 deals respectively, nearly 20% of the total.
Corporate venturing units invested $1.9bn last year, $438m in the fourth quarter, compared with $1.35bn in 2009, PwC and NVCA said. This was 8.7% of the total in the VC market in both the fourth quarter ($5bn) and full-year ($21.8bn), they added.
The clean-tech sector was important for the size of money committed, even if the number of deals was a tenth of the total, PwC and NVCA said. Using Thomson Reuters data, corporate venturing units invested $549m last year in 44 companies, making it a record year for the money committed to the sector. In 2009, corporate venturing units invested $178m, about half the 2007 and 2008 figures, in 31 deals.
Overall, VC firms invested $3.7bn in 233 clean-tech companies last year, nearly reaching its 2008 peak.