DESPITE THE credit crunch, Irish technology and life sciences firms raised €84.4 million from investors in the fourth quarter of last year, according to new data from the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA).
The strong fourth quarter brings the total capital raised by Irish tech firms in 2007 to €226 million - the highest level since 2002 when the dotcom bubble imploded.
The €84.4 million figure for the last three months of the year compares to €30.1 million raised during the same period in 2006.
"The figures suggest that despite concerns over the impact of the subprime crisis, VC [venture capital] funding for Irish technology and knowledgebased industries is healthy," said Prof Michael Donnelly, chairman of the IVCA. Most Irish VC funds were also raising new capital during the period in question which led many industry commentators to speculate there would be a downturn in activity.
Some 32 companies attracted investment in the fourth quarter compared to just six in 2006. The biggest deal was the €40 million secured for tidal turbine technology group OpenHydro by Davy Stockbrokers. Investors include private equity players One51, Plainfield Asset Management and a number of unnamed private and corporate investors.
The next biggest deal was the €9 million raised by Merrion Pharmaceuticals from Growcorp (chaired by Prof Donnelly), Kernel Capital Partners and private investors. Kernel, which closed a €70 million fund during the quarter, also led a €1 million injection of funds into diagnostics outfit Stokes Bio.
The largest investment round which included overseas venture capitalists was the €6.7 million raised by semi-conductor company Powervation. The funding was led by Intel Capital from the US and Scottish Equity Partners, with US firm Venture Tech Alliance and local firm Fourth Level Ventures also participating.
Private or angel investors are becoming an increasingly important source of funding according to the data. Digital media software company Lincor raised €1 million and telecoms software firm Cape Technologies (subsequently acquired by WeDo Technology for €17 million) secured €1.25 million entirely from private investors.
"It has been an extremely active time for the industry in terms of the number of firms being supported," said Regina Breheny, director general, IVCA.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)