VENTURE-BACKED IPOS HAVE STRONGEST OPENING QUARTER IN FIVE YEARS

CONTACTS

Emily Mendell
NVCA
1.610.565.3904
[e-mail]

Lauren Herman
Thomson Reuters
1.646.223.5985
[e-mail]

Market Stability and Favorable Legislation Positions Emerging Growth Companies
Well for 2012 Exits

New York, New York, April 2, 2012 - Venture-backed initial public offering (IPO)
activity marked its strongest opening quarter, by number of issues and dollars
raised, since the first quarter of 2007.  Bolstered by increased stability in
the broader U.S. stock market indices, 19 venture-backed companies went public
in the United States during the first quarter of 2012, raising $1.5 billion,
according to the Exit Poll report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture
Capital Association (NVCA).  By dollars, the quarter registered a 10 percent
increase compared to the first quarter of 2011, when 14 venture backed companies
raised $1.4 billion.  For the first quarter of 2012, 86 venture-backed M&A deals
were reported, 24 of which had an aggregate deal value of $2.7 billion.

"As we close the first quarter of 2012, venture-backed companies are extremely
well positioned to consider an initial public offering on a U.S. exchange, " said
Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. "The recently passed JOBS Act will grant
emerging growth companies temporary but significant regulatory relief during the
IPO process, allowing them to focus on accessing capital to grow their
businesses.  We have two vibrant exchanges that are eager for venture-backed
company listings and we have a strong list of companies in registration poised
to enter, what appears for the time being, to be a relatively stable market.
 This environment can only help the M&A market as well, as companies now have
two viable exit paths from which to choose."

Venture-Backed Liquidity Events by Year/Quarter, 2006-2012
+------------+------+----------+----------+---------+---------+--------+-------+
| | | | | | | |Average|
| | |M&A Deals | *Total |*Average | | Total | IPO |
| |Total | with |Disclosed |M&A Deal | | Offer | Offer |
| |  M&A |Disclosed |M&A Value | Size   |**Number | Amount |Amount |
|Quarter/Year|Deals | Values | ($M) | ($M) |of IPO´s | ($M) | ($M) |
+------------+------+----------+----------+---------+---------+--------+-------+
| 2006 | 378 | 167 | 19,141.8 | 114.6 | 57 |5,117.1 | 89.8 |
+------------+------+----------+----------+---------+---------+--------+-------+
| 2007 | 382 | 170 | 29,556.6 | 173.9 | 87 |10,960.6| 126.0 |
+------------+------+----------+----------+---------+---------+--------+-------+