Initial Public Offerings Fall

Initial public offerings (IPOs) of start-up firms fell by more than half in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the previous quarter and the first quarter of 2012, according to a new survey. First-quarter activity is often subdued, notes John S. Taylor, head of research at the National Venture Capital Association, which conducted the survey of start-ups along with Thomson Reuters. “This year, political, taxation, and sequestration concerns weighed even more heavily on the exit market for emerging companies,” Taylor says. The dollar value of the eight IPOs in the quarter was $672 million, down 52% from the previous quarter and 60% from the first quarter of 2012. Six of the IPOs were in the information technology sector and two were in life sciences. Acquisitions of 10 start-ups in the quarter were worth $983 million, down more than 70% compared with the values reported in the first and fourth quarters of last year. Most deals involved IT, but four—including the largest, Illumina’s $350 million purchase of Verinata Health—were in the life sciences.