2006 - A Record Year For Private Equity/VC/Mezzanine Fundraising
Today’s Dow Jones summary of total US private equity capital raised in 2006 paints an interesting picture. The total raise for 2006 was a record $215.4 billion, up 33% from 2005 and in excess of the year 2000 record.
Of that, 79% went to private equity and mezzanine funds, and 12% to venture capital.
In a record year, the total venture capital raise was down 2% from 2005.
The implications for 2007 include continued pricing pressure for large deals, especially considering the backlog of uninvested capital in an ongoing positive fundraising environment. For “VC-sized” transactions there remains a healthy capital availability, although venture capital has greatly declined as a percentage of total capital raised since the previous record year of 2000. I’m digging to find the ratio of Texas-based VC funds raised to the overall VC raise for 2006.
-John J. Reed
Source: Dow Jones Financial Information Services