1Q VC investments down significantly - Business First of Buffalo:

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million in the first quarte as investors continued to sit on the sidelinea and wait for economif conditionsto improve. The consumer services and energyt sectors each landedone deal, according to the Quarterlty Venture Capital Report released by Dow Jonesd VentureOne and . That’s down from five deals wortgh a totalof $67.6 million during the same period in 2008. Kevin McHolland, a partner in Erns t & Young’s Phoenix office, said the poor Arizona numbers reflect anational trend, as VC money has drier up and the initial public offering market for venture-backed firms is virtually nonexistent.
“Ik would expect VC funding to recover as theeconomuy recovers,” McHolland said. Nationally, venture capitalistz generated $3.2 billion in the first quarter through mergers or acquisitione of 68portfolio companies, representing a 65 percent drop from the $9.1 billionj in liquidity generated in the first quartef of 2008 and the lowest quarterly totalo since 2003. The largest deals in the countrh were focused in biopharmaceuticals and medical devices.