The beloved, endangered IPO is showing signs of revival, or at least survival. In the second quarter of 2010, there were 15 venture-backed IPOs in the U.S., which raised a total of $899 million, according to data released today by Dow Jones VentureSource. The amount raised is nearly four times as much as the same, admittedly moribund, period a year ago, when there were only 3 IPOs and $232 million in exits. So far this year, the total number of IPOs (23) and exit dollars ($1.6 billion) already surpasses the totals for each of the last two years.
Of course, the IPO markets are coming back from a near-death experience so the comparisons look great. The numbers got a big boost from the Tesla IPO on Tuesday, which raised $202 million. (The shares are trading at $24 this morning, 41 percent above the IPO price).
But the IPO market still has along way to go. Â The total number of IPOs and money raised is still a fraction of what it was even in 2007, when there were nearly 80 IPOs and more than $7 billion raised. Â It’s also never taken longer for a company to go public (at least over the past 18 years since VentureSource has been keeping track). Â The median time between founding and IPO for the 15 exits last quarter was 9.4 years.
Meanwhile, in M&A land the number of venture-backed deals in the quarter were down slightly to 79 from 82 a year ago. Â But the amount raised through acquisitions was up 48 percent to $4.3 billion. Â However, the number of acquisitions and amount raised was lower than in each of the two previous quarters.