Missouri ranks No. 3 in venture capital investment for 2002

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According to an annual survey of venture capital investment activity in the United States in 2002, the state of Missouri ranked No. 3 for the second consecutive year for venture capital investments in the Midwest region. |ret||ret||tab|

Joining Missouri in the top three Midwest regional rankings for 2002 was Illinois in first place, with $186 million in 56 deals, and western Pennsylvania, coming in at $164 million in 29 deals. |ret||ret||tab|

The Missouri Department of Economic Development announced that the MoneyTree Survey, which is done in cooperation with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, showed that 36 Missouri companies received investments worth a total of $162 million for the year. |ret||ret||tab|

While that amount is less than the investment amount received in 2001, several promising companies in the state received financing.|ret||ret||tab|

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Recipients|ret||ret||tab|

Of the 36 companies, eight are located in Missouri incubators in the St. Louis area the Center for Emerging Technologies and the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise. Incubators provide a protective business environment for small, early growth companies conducive to the success of businesses during the critical early development stages.|ret||ret||tab|

Nine companies receiving venture capital during 2002 are in the biotechnology and related industries of medical devices and health care. |ret||ret||tab|

"This is a strong indication that the integrated approach we are taking to build monetary, intellectual and physical infrastructure in Missouri and the region is beginning to bear fruit," said Robert J. Calcaterra, president and CEO of the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise. "This is happening faster than I would have expected from my previous experience."|ret||ret||tab|

Missouri DED Director Joseph L. Driskill said it is important to ensure that new enterprises in Missouri can access adequate venture capital resources for various stages in the development and commercialization of new products.|ret||ret||tab|

"Fortunately, dozens of Missouri companies received funds last year despite the many economic challenges that limited venture capital investments. We are also excited to learn that investments in the life sciences are on the rise, which, in the future, should benefit the growing life-science clusters throughout Missouri," Driskill said. |ret||ret||tab|

The company receiving the largest investment in the Midwest region and accounting for a significant portion of the total venture capital invested in Missouri companies was NuVox Communica-tions, formerly known as Gabriel Communica-tions. |ret||ret||tab|

The Chesterfield-based company, which has operations in Springfield, received investments worth more than $68 million. |ret||ret||tab|

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Investors|ret||ret||tab|

Prolog Ventures of St. Louis was cited in the report as one of the most active investors for 2002, with 14 deals overall. Prolog is a seed capital fund that used state tax credits to raise a fund totaling $34 million. |ret||ret||tab|

To date, Prolog has invested $8.7 million in eight Missouri-based companies, which also received nearly $60 million from out-of-state venture capital firms.|ret||ret||tab|

Other investors from Missouri include A.G. Edwards, Advantage Capital Partners, Ascension Health Ventures, Capital for Business, Gateway Associates, RiverVest Venture Partners and Stifel CAPCO, all of St. Louis, and Kansas City Equity Partners of Kansas City. These local investments led to out-of-state investors from California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia and Wisconsin participating in the financing rounds. |ret||ret||tab|

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National level|ret||ret||tab|

Nationally, venture capital investing continues to decline since its unprecedented peak in 2000. Overall, the Midwest region continues to remain in the top 10 regions, ranking ninth out of 18 regions. The Silicon Valley ranks first with a commanding lead of nearly $7 billion invested in 770 deals, or nearly 33 percent of all venture capital investment in the United States. |ret||ret||tab|

The New England and Southeast regions follow, accounting for another 21 percent of all investments. According to the MoneyTree Survey, the life sciences sector was the bright spot for 2002, capturing $4.7 billion and accounting for 22 percent of all venture capital investing.|ret||ret||tab|

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