Angel deals rise in St. Louis, nationwide

A recent report by The Angel Resource Institute shows angel investments are on the rise, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. There were more high-valuation deals closing in 2013 than in 2012.

The 2013 year-end Halo Report found that median round sizes held steady at $600,000 per deal and investments were at a three-year high when angels co-invested with non-angels. This type of deal had a median value of $1.7 million.

New York-based angel network Golden Seeds was named the most active angel network in the country, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Golden Seeds is working closely with the Prosper Angel Network, a St. Louis initiative looking to close the gender gap among entrepreneurs.

Golden Seeds has invested more than $60 million in startup businesses since 2005. Its network has more than 275 members.

Prosper will invest roughly $375,000 in its first year and as much as $1.25 million annually in the future.

The St. Louis Arch Angels finished 2013 having invested $8.5 million, up from the $5.6 million invested in 2012. The group will invest roughly $10 million in 2014.

Arch Angels' network has grown from 47 members at the beginning of 2013 to nearly 80 angel members today. Gil Bickel, chairman of the St. Louis Arch Angels, told the St. Louis Business Journal that the group also has helped spur similar angel groups in Alabama, Kansas City and Springfield, Mo.

Read more from the St. Louis Business Journal.