Changes

Seventy-seven venture-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) raised $9.4 billion in 2015, marking a 40 percent decline in dollars raised compared to 2014, according to the Exit Poll Report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). For the fourth quarter, 16 venture-backed IPOs raised $2.2 billion, an 18 percent increase compared to the total dollars raised during the previous three-month period and up slightly compared to the number of offerings listed during the third quarter of 2015. Ninety-one venture-backed M&A deals were reported in the fourth quarter, 26 of which had an aggregate deal value of $3.6 billion, decreasing 48 percent compared to the third quarter of this year. For full year 2015, 372 M&A transactions were reported, with 84 deals combining for a disclosed value of $16.3 billion, the slowest full year period for venture-backed M&A since 2009.[http://nvca.org/pressreleases/seventy-seven-venture-backed-companies-went-public-in-2015/ NVCA]