Israeli venture capital-backed start-ups raised $162 million in the second quarter of 2009, 16% less than the $194 million raised in the first quarter, and 44% less than the $291 million raised in the corresponding quarter of 2008, reports Kesselman & Kesselman - PricewaterhouseCooper Israel in its Israel MoneyTree Report for the second quarter.
61 high-tech companies raised capital during the second quarter, compared with 49 companies in the preceding quarter and 69 companies in the corresponding quarter. The average investment was $2.7 million in the second quarter, down from $4 million in the preceding quarter and $4.2 million in the corresponding quarter. The average investment was the lowest in five years.
Israeli venture capital-backed start-ups raised $356 million in the first half of 2009, down from $717 million raised in the first half of 2008. Investment in the first half was the lowest amount in a decade.
Kesselman & Kesselman high-tech practice partner Robi Suliman said, "Together with the drop in investment in the second quarter, the average investment in a company fell to a nadir of $2.7 million. This fact can be attributed to the mix of investments, 65% of which were made in seed and early-stage companies. Looking at the investment mix, we see positive signs of growing interest in early-stage companies. The life sciences sector, which had a number of significant exits recently, showed substantial growth in this quarter, belying the general quarterly trend, and fully in line with developments in the life sciences sector in the US."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 2, 2009
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