1. Channa Luma, The Weiser Group for NVCA, 202-641-6959, cluma@weisergroup.com
Joshua Radler, Thomson Financial, 646-822-7323, Joshua.radler@thomson.com
PRIVATE EQUITY PERFORMANCE STRONG IN Q1 2006
Long Term Performance Sustainability Tied to IPO Market
New York, NY, July 31st, 2006—Private equity returns improved in the short term and showed
continued stability in the long term for the period ending March 31st 2006, according to Thomson
Financial and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). At the end of the first quarter,
the one, three and five year returns improved for both venture capital and buyout funds compared
to Q4 2005 and the same period one year ago. Long term performance remained steady and
continued to outperform both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ for the ten and twenty year horizons.
Short term performance showed an increase with the one year venture capital returns posting a
19.8% return for Q1 2006 up from 13.3% in Q4 2005. Five year returns improved, but remained
in negative territory at -4.4% up from -6.7% in Q4 2005. This negative return continues to reflect
the aftermath of the tech bubble burst. Ten and twenty year returns remained steady at 22.7% and
16.5% respectively.
One year buyout returns saw a very slight increase posting 25.5% for Q1 2006 compared to
25.3% for Q4 2005. Ten and twenty year buyout returns were relatively steady at 8.9% and
13.3% respectively.
“Despite the lackluster IPO market in the first quarter of this year, the venture capital industry
enjoyed a healthy performance, most likely on the strength of the acquisitions market,” said Mark
Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association. “The performance news is
positive – we hope it is sustainable. If we want to continue to outperform the public markets long
term, we are going to have to see more venture-backed companies entering the public markets.”
The venture-backed IPO market continued to struggle in Q1 2006 with only 10 companies going
public on US exchanges and a significant drop in the post offer valuations as well. In contrast,
the venture-backed M&A market for Q1 2006 performed well with deal volume and deal value
experiencing sharp increase over Q4 2005.
“The stability of the long term returns for both venture capital and buyouts makes these asset
classes very attractive for investors looking for a higher return then traditional markets. We
expect this news will continue to support a vibrant fundraising market for both venture capital
and buyout funds. Having said that, this record availability of new capital will put increasing
pressure on firms to remain disciplined to not raise more than can generate attractive returns,”
said Joshua Radler, assistant project manager of Thomson Financial.

2. Thomson Financials' US Private Equity Performance Index (PEPI)
Investment Horizon Performance through 03/31/2006
Fund Type 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 20 Yr
Early/Seed VC 9.7 5.0 -8.6 41.4 20.5
Balanced VC 31.0 13.5 -1.0 18.0 14.6
Later Stage VC 17.4 10.7 -1.8 10.7 13.8
All Venture 19.8 9.4 -4.4 22.7 16.5
Small Buyouts 40.0 9.0 3.2 7.6 25.8
Med Buyouts 17.4 11.1 3.5 10.5 16.5
Large Buyouts 31.2 17.2 5.7 9.0 12.6
Mega Buyouts 24.9 19.1 7.1 8.7 11.4
All Buyouts 25.5 17.6 6.3 8.9 13.3
Mezzanine 11.9 6.1 3.1 6.6 9.1
All Private Equity 22.8 14.7 3.0 11.8 14.3
17.0 20.4 4.9 7.8 10.1
NASDAQ
9.7 15.1 2.2 7.2 12.1
S & P 500
Source: Thomson Financial/National Venture Capital Association
*The Private Equity Performance Index is based on the latest quarterly statistics from Thomson
Financials’ Private Equity Performance Database analyzing the cashflows and returns for over 1814 US
venture capital and private equity partnerships with a capitalization of $657 billion. Sources are financial
documents and schedules from Limited Partners investors and General Partners. All returns are
calculated by Thomson Financial from the underlying financial cashflows. Returns are net to investors
after management fees and carried interest. Buyout funds sizes are defined as the following: Small: 0-250
$Mil, Medium: 250-500 $Mil, Large: 500-1000 $Mil, Mega: 1 Bil +
About Thomson Financial
Thomson Financial, with 2005 revenues of US$1.9 billion, is a provider of information and
technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of
products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries
make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is
part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated
information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of
law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-
learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.50 billion,
The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock
exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) represents approximately 480 venture
capital and private equity firms. NVCA's mission is to foster 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 United States 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.