Venture-backed firms raise $2 billion in IPOs

U.S. companies backed by venture capital, including Craig McCaw’s Clearwire Corp., raised $2.09 billion through initial public offerings in the first quarter, four times as much as in the same period last year.

Seventeen such companies went public in the quarter, according to data released Monday by the Arlington, Va.-based National Venture Capital Assn. and Thomson Financial. The $600-million IPO last month by Clearwire, an unprofitable wireless-Internet company, was the biggest. The stock has fallen 18% since the March 7 offering.

Technology firms such as Clearwire issued the most IPOs, with nine companies making up almost 67% of the total amount raised in the period. Globally, companies raised $35.8 billion by selling new shares to the public in the first quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Technology and communications companies made up 14% of that total.

“There appears to be a crack in the IPO window, which changes the psychology of the market,” said Mark Heesen, president of the association. “In recent quarters, an IPO has not been a viable option for most of these companies. However, the increase in venture-backed IPO registrations is an encouraging sign.”

An additional 44 venture-backed firms filed for IPOs in the quarter, compared with 24 waiting to tap the public markets at the same time last year, the association said.