1. Emily Mendell, NVCA, 610-359-9609, emendell@nvca.org
Joshua Radler, Thomson Venture Economics, 212-806-3146, joshua.radler@thomson.com
2004 VENTURE-BACKED IPO ACTIVITY
EXCEEDED PRIOR THREE YEARS COMBINED
TECH BUBBLE BURST SURVIVORS ENTER MARKETS STRONGLY
Cross-Sector Activity in Q4 Suggests Sustainable Momentum in 2005
New York, NY- January 3, 2005—Twenty-seven venture-backed companies raised $2.99 billion through Initial
Public Offerings (IPOs) in the fourth quarter of 2004 marking the third consecutive quarter of more than twenty
IPOs and the fourth consecutive quarter with at least $2.0 billion in total offerings, according to Thomson Venture
Economics and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). For the full year 2004, ninety-three venture-
backed IPOs raised a total of $11.0 billion, more than tripling the IPO activity in 2003 when twenty-nine venture-
backed companies went public for $2.0 billion.
“It is interesting to note that 62% of the venture-backed companies that went public in 2004 received their first
rounds of funding between 1997 and 2000, immediately before the recession,” said Mark Heesen, President of
NVCA. “The public markets are now embracing many of these companies that went through the bubble burst and
lived to tell. These organizations had sound business models and did what it took to weather through some very
difficult times with positive results. We expect to see more of the same in 2005 as these phoenixes rise from the
ashes in a resilient and impressive manner.”
“2004 proved to be an exceptional year in the public equity markets as indicated by the substantial increase in the
number of venture-backed IPO’s,quot; said Sandra Ribeiro, Research Director of Thomson Venture Economics.
quot;As venture capitalists focused their attentions on growing and maintaining their existing portfolio companies, these
companies with solid financial statements are now able to take advantage of the favorable exit market, a trend that is
likely to continue in 2005.”
The fourth quarter 2004 venture-backed IPO market was driven by the Technology sector accounting for seventeen
of the twenty-seven IPOs and $1.2 billion of the $2.99 billion total offering amount during the quarter. The Life
Sciences sector had seven venture-backed IPOs raising a total of $496.7 million in the fourth quarter. However, the
largest venture-backed IPO in Q4 was an all-digital studio and entertainment company, DreamWorks Animation,
which raised $812.0 million. The next largest venture-backed IPOs were: Bill Barrett Corporation, which raised
$325.0 million; Build-a-Bear Workshop, Inc., which raised $149.6 million; InPhonic, Inc which had an offering
amount of $142.5 million; and Shopping.com, which raised $123.7 million. The largest Life Sciences IPO in the
quarter was Theravance, Inc., which raised $98.4 million.

2. Analysis of Recent Quarters' IPOs
Total Avg.
Number Total Avg. Venture Venture
of Venture Venture Backed Backed
Venture Backed Backed Post Post
Number Backed Offering Offering Offering Offering
Quarter of IPO's in IPO's in Size Size Value Value
Ending the U.S. the U.S. ($Mill) ($Mill) ($Mill) ($Mill)
6/30/2002 35 15 1,836.1 122.4 5,917.6 394.5
9/30/2002 8 1 30.0 30.0 153.4 153.4
12/31/2002 27 4 231.2 57.8 523.8 130.9
3/31/2003 5 1 77.2 77.2 147.8 147.8
6/30/2003 5 2 164.0 82.0 695.3 347.6
9/30/2003 20 9 732.8 81.4 3,064.5 340.5
12/31/2003 52 17 1,048.7 61.7 4,349.9 255.9
3/31/2004 42 13 2,721.1 209.3 10,575.0 813.5
6/30/2004 58 29 2,077.8 71.6 8,930.4 307.9
9/30/2004 67 24 3,225.6 134.4 29,596.8 1,233.2
12/31/2004 82 27 2,990.4 110.8 11,985.4 443.9
Thomson Venture Economics & National Venture Capital Association
Analysis of Recent Years' IPOs
Total Avg.
Total Avg. Venture Venture
Number Venture Venture Backed Backed
of Venture Backed Backed Post Post
Number Backed Offering Offering Offering Offering
of IPO's in IPO's in Size Size Value Value
Year Ending the U.S. the U.S. ($Mill) ($Mill) ($Mill) ($Mill)
2001 83 41 3,489.9 85.1 18,004.0 439.1
2002 81 24 2,473.5 103.1 8,992.8 374.7
2003 82 29 2,022.7 69.8 8,257.4 284.7
2004 249 93 11,014.9 118.4 61,087.7 656.9
Thomson Venture Economics & National Venture Capital Association

3. 2004 Venture-Backed by Industry
Venture
Number of Backed
Venture Total Venture Post
Backed Backed Offering
IPO's in the Offering Size Value
U.S. ($Mil) ($Mill)
Industry
Internet Specific 21 3,204.0 30,460.7
Communications/Media 7 680.8 2,677.0
Semiconductor 6 2,176.0 8,121.9
Technology
Computer Software 5 286.8 937.7
Computer Hardware 3 273.0 971.7
TOTAL 42 6,620.6 43,169.0
Medical/Health 25 1,440.7 5,988.9
Life Sciences Biotechnology 16 946.7 4,444.8
TOTAL 41 2,387.4 10,433.7
Non-high Technology 10 2,006.9 7,485.1
Other
TOTAL 10 2,006.9 7,485.1
Thomson Venture Economics & National Venture Capital Association
In 2004, the Technology sector saw forty-two venture-backed companies raise a total of $6.6 billion with the
Internet Specific category leading the sector with twenty-one IPOs raising $3.2 billion. The Life Sciences sector
saw forty-one companies raise a total of $2.4 billion; non-high technology had ten IPOs raising $2.0 billion. The 5
largest IPOs of the year spanned five different industry sectors: Semiconductors, Internet, Entertainment,
Exploration, and Fitness. Top offerings in other major industry sectors included InPhonic Inc (Communications),
Symbion (Medical/Health) and EyeTech Pharmaceuticals (Biotech). Of the ninety-three IPOs for the year, eighty-
three companies were domiciled in the US; eight companies, in China; two in Israel. All of the venture-backed IPOs
included in this data went public on a US exchange and had US-based VCs as investors.
Top 20 Venture-Backed IPOs on US Exchanges by Offer Amount (USD Mil)
Company Name Offer Amt (USD Mil) **Post Offer Value (USD Mil)
1803.03 6646.70
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (AKA:
SMIC)
1666.43 23053.67
Google, Inc.
812.00 2959.19
DreamWorks Animation, Inc.
325.00 1009.30
Bill Barrett Corporation
183.15 614.37
FCA, Ltd. (AKA: Life Time Fitness)
175.20 232.31
MortgageIT, Inc.
156.25 1295.40
Cabela's, Inc.
152.40 152.40
Shanda Interactive Entertainment (AKA: Shanda Networking)
149.64 391.03
Build-a-Bear Workshop, Inc.
142.50 603.05
InPhonic, Inc.
140.06 372.26
Ness Technologies, Inc.

4. 136.50 808.18
EyeTech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
132.00 526.14
SiRF Technology, Inc.
126.50 524.33
Archipelago Holdings, LLC
126.00 636.32
Atheros Communications, Inc. (FKA: T-Span Systems Corp.)
123.68 500.64
Shopping.com (FKA: DealTime.com, Inc.)
114.37 423.15
Arbinet-thexchange, Inc. (FKA: Arbinet Holdings, Inc.)
110.00 1113.83
SalesForce.com, Inc.
108.00 293.97
Symbion, Inc. (FKA: UniPhy Healthcare, Inc.)
106.25 376.25
PortalPlayer, Inc.
Thomson Venture Economics & National Venture Capital Association
**The post offer value represents the value of all shares outstanding (primary shares, management shares, etc.) at
the offer date
Funding History for Venture-Backed Companies That Went Public in 2004
Year of First Investments Total # of Venture-
Backed Companies
That Received First
Funding In:
1988 1
1990 1
1993 1
1994 1
1995 6
1996 7
1997 10
1998 13
1999 20
2000 15
2001 8
2002 5
2003 5
Total 93
Thomson Venture Economics & National Venture Capital Association
An examination of funding histories reveals that 81% of the venture-backed companies that went public in 2004
received their first round of venture financing prior to the technology bubble burst, demonstrating the improving
availability of viable exit options for companies that survived the recession. As of December 30, sixty-nine of the
ninety-three companies, or 74%, were trading at or above their offering price.
The venture-backed IPO market continues to look promising into 2005, with fifty-seven companies currently “in
registration” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning that they have filed during 2004 and are
currently preparing for their initial public offerings. This compares with thirty-one venture-backed companies that
were in registration at the end of 2003.

5. The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) represents approximately 450 venture capital and private
equity firms. NVCA's mission is to foster a greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the U.S.
economy, and support entrepreneurial activity and innovation. According to a 2004 Global Insight study, venture-
backed companies accounted for 10.1 million jobs and $1.8 trillion in revenue in the U.S. in 2003. The NVCA
represents the public policy interests of the venture capital community, strives to maintain high professional
standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional development, and facilitates interaction among its
members. For more information about the NVCA, please visit www.nvca.org.
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Economics, please visit www.ventureeconomics.com.
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