Week 12/05/2005 through 12/11/2005

Prepared by Capital Hunter analysts

Venture capital investment continued to remain strong, as 48 companies received equity financing this week, the largest number of companies funded in one week since before 2004. The total amount of money invested in those 48 companies was approximately $401 million, continuing the trend of strong venture capital investment within the past three months. Software, which has receiving a declining share of the venture pot the past few months, was this week’s investment du jour, as almost half of all venture dollars went into this sector.

There were five initial public offerings this week, the same amount as listed last week. However, only one old-economy company could be included among the five this week, a far cry from much of the IPO activity this year, as many public offerings took advantage of the bull market in energy and energy-related stocks to list at favorable prices. In fact the other four initial public offerings were from high-tech sectors. The five companies are as follows:

Vocus priced at $45 million on the NASDAQ and is a provider of on-demand software for corporate communications and public relations.

Patni Computer Systems priced at $139.84 million on the NYSE and is an Indian provider of information technology services.

Widerthan priced at $72 million on the NASDAQ and is a Korean provider of integrated mobile entertainment solutions for mobile wireless carriers.

Cynosure priced at $75 million on the NASDAQ and is a provider of aesthetic treatment solutions used in non-invasive surgical procedures.

Basic Energy Services priced at $250 million on the NYSE and is a provider of well site services to the oil & gas industry.

Please come visit our new and improved web site at CapitalHunter.com. We have made improvements to both the look and functionality of our web site, including business resources, glossary terms, and other helpful information provided free of charge for the budding entrepreneur. For private equity firms, consulting firms, business journals, and individuals looking to do research on venture backed companies, you can still gain complete access to our entire database for $59 a quarter and $199 a year.

CapitalHunter.com was able to verify that $400.97 million of venture capital was invested in 48 U.S.-based companies during the past two weeks. The average deal size was approximately 8.35 million. The amount of venture capital invested this period increased by 28% compared to last periods $314 million.

California, after having what essentially amounted to on off week last reporting period, returned with a vengeance this week, as twenty-five California companies raised $214.72 million in new equity financing, which accounted for 54% of the total venture capital invested this reporting period. The largest private venture financing in California was placed into Celladon. Celladon raised $30 million in Series B funding and is a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focusing on treatments for cardiovascular disease.

The software sector raised the most venture capital this reporting period, with an astounding twenty-four companies raising $197.17 million in venture financing, which accounted for 49% of the venture capital this period. The largest private venture financing in the software sector this period went into Visage Mobile. Visage Mobile raised $30 million in Series D funding and is a provider of turnkey technology and software services for wireless carriers.

Start-ups raising their second institutional round of financing represented the largest share of the funding pie, as 41% of all money invested this period went into such companies. The largest private venture financing in the Series B round was placed into the aforementioned Celladon.

The three largest venture deals this period are as follows:

The following nineteen companies and other unnamed investors funded the above mentioned top three venture capital investments for $85.5 million:

A total of 84 equity financings of private and public companies occurred during this reporting period. Each of the 84 equity financings are profiled in a weekly (in this case biweekly) report which include venture financings, private placements, secondary offerings, PIPE’s, and IPO’s.

About CapitalHunter.com

CapitalHunter.com is a web-based financial information company that identifies, preserves and electronically disseminates worldwide data on venture capital and other equity financings. Customers utilize the CapitalHunter.com searchable database to research newly and historic financings and to identify active investors.

Please visit www.capitalhunter.com and get immediate access. New subscribers can request a free investor analysis.

To be REMOVED from this free service, CLICK HERE