US cleantech investment accounts for bulk of energy investment in Q1 2009

20 April 2009

US venture investment into cleantech accounted for the bulk of energy investment during the first quarter of 2009, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.

Up to $117m was invested across nine deals, although it represented a 73 per cent decline from the $427m invested during the same period of 2008. The Energy & Utilities industry as a whole saw $189m invested across 15 deals during the opening quarter, which was down 59 per cent from the $457m invested in 2007.

Data shows that most sectors took a hit as the global financial downturn took hold. Overall, venture capitalists invested just $3.9bn in US companies, down 50 per cent from the first quarter of the previous year and the lowest quarterly investment total since 1998. Only 477 venture deals were completed, compared to 706 deals in the first quarter of 2008.

‘We’re seeing continued retrenching in the venture capital industry,’ said Jessica Canning, director of global research for Dow Jones VentureSource. ‘Over the past several quarters, VCs have pulled back significantly on early stage investments in the US, across all industries. During the economic downturn, investors will continue to focus on nurturing their strongest, existing portfolio companies, and keep their eyes open for the next set of opportunities.’

Venture capitalists not only backed few companies but invested less money in the deals that did take place. Much of the capital went to established, older portfolio companies to help them overcome financial difficulty, Canning added.

Copyright © 2009 newnet

Tags: cleantech, renewable energy, venture capital

This story was published on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 3:05 pm and is filed under North America, companies, energy efficiency, knowledge. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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