U.S. venture capital activity up in Q2, but still low

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Venture capital activity bounced in the second quarter, but remained well below historical averages, the National Venture Capital Association said on Wednesday.

Five companies went through venture-backed initial public offerings in the second quarter worth a total of $720 million, ending the record-poor performance of the previous two quarters, in which no IPOs were done, the industry body said.

Meanwhile, 59 venture-backed acquisitions took place during the second quarter with a total value of $2.6 billion. Most were in the information technology sector.

Medtronic's (MDT.N) purchase of Corevalve for $700 million was the quarter's largest acquistion.

The largest IPO in the second quarter was satellite imaging company DigitalGlobe (DGI.N) at $279.3 million.

Venture capitalists have been slow to put money into new companies during the recession because they have had trouble cashing out their previous investments.

Between 2003 and 2007, inclusive, the number of venture-backed IPOs averaged just over 16 a quarter, before dropping into single digits in 2008, the association said.

"Venture-backed company exit activity showed mild improvement in the second quarter of 2009, but still fell far short of historical norms," the report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association said.

(Reporting by David Lawsky)