U.S. demand for initial public
offerings, particularly for biotechnology firms, has rebounded in
the wake of the three-year bear market, said William Whelan, a
lawyer with Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo PC in Boston.
Investor interest is being driven, in part, by accelerating
growth in the economy, rising stock prices and changes in the
industry such as a faster drug-approval process from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, Whelan said in an interview.
“That momentum is building to support some IPOs,” said
Whelan, 46, who works with venture capital companies as well as
businesses seeking funds. “There’s a built up appetite.”
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In the first quarter, 13 venture-backed companies raised a
total of $2.72 billion through initial public offerings,
according to a survey by the National Venture Capital Association
and Thomson Venture Economics. Another 50 companies have
indicated to regulators that they plan to go public.
Some more developed firms with proven technology have seen
an increase in venture capital funding, Whelan said. Start-up companies also are attracting investments again, though at a
slower rate than established businesses.
Venture capital funding climbed for 10 years starting in
1990, cresting in 2000, when $105.9 billion was invested in
companies, according to survey data by PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, Thomson Venture Economics and the NVCA.
Since 2000, funding tumbled each year. Last year, venture
capital investments totaled $18.4 billion.
Bloomberg News
