1Q VC investments down significantly - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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million in the first quarter as investors continuec to sit on the sidelines and wait for economic conditionswto improve. The consumer services and energy sectors each landed one according to the Quarterly Venturre Capital Report released by Dow Jones VentureOneand . That’x down from five deals wort a totalof $67.6 millionh during the same period in 2008. Kevim McHolland, a partner in Ernst & Young’s Phoenix said the poor Arizona numbers reflect anational trend, as VC moneg has dried up and the initial public offering markey for venture-backed firms is virtually nonexistent. “o would expect VC funding to recover as the economy recovers,” McHolland said.
Nationally, venture capitalists generate $3.2 billion in the firstf quarter through mergers or acquisitionsa of 68portfolio companies, representing a 65 percent drop from the $9.1 billion in liquidity generateds in the first quarter of 2008 and the lowest quarterlg total since 2003. The largest deals in the country were focused in biopharmaceuticals andmedical devices.