VC investment slows - South Florida Business Journal:

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million in Florida companies duringthis year'z third quarter, the lowest dollar volume in the state sinc e 1999's first quarter, according to a surve by PricewaterhouseCoopers. survey, compiled by the accountingy and consulting firm and venture capital consultantVenture One, shower 13 Florida companies received venturre capital during the recent That averaged out to $6.9 million per investment. The recent quarter's statewide dollar total was considerablyg smaller than inthis year's second which had 12 VC deals totaling $260.7 million. The Money Tree surveyy for 2000's third quarter showed 23 Florida investmentstotaling $542.
8 million, a quarterl y dollar record for the state. This year'ds third quarter results includee five South Florida companies receivin g a totalof $29.2 million. Duringg this year's second four South Florida companiesz received venture capitaltotalingt $86.1 million. "What we saw in the last quarter is probablyt a significant indication of what is to saidPhyllis Jones, a Tampa-based Pricewaterhouse partnedr who heads the firm'ss Florida Technology Practice. "We are back to Jones said. "The boom period was just that. Historically, the third quarter (of was not bad. We didn't have monster deals closing like in thepreviouds quarters.
" The decline in technologuy stocks that began during the spring of 2000 is impactingt the flow of venture capitalk in Florida and around the country, Jonew said. During 1999 and early 2000, numerous ventures funds gave money toyoung Internet-related companiesd with a goal of gaining profits from anticipated initiak public offerings. However, those IPOs did not materialize. The lingeriny effects of this year's economic slowdown, the 11 terrorist attacks are other factors probably will keep VC deal flowat pre-19990 levels for the next several quarters, Jones Thus, for the next several quarters, it is anticipatedc the number of VC investments likelu will remain flat and there probably will be few of the $10 million-plua investments in early-stage companies that were widespread in late 1999 and last "Many venture funds are spending times advising and helpinfg to shore up their existint investments (companies)," Jones said.
"Some are saying that the secondr round is where theyare looking, but some are stilo interested in early-stage companies." The thir quarter's largest VC deal in South Florida was an $18.77 million investment received by Coordinated Care Solutionw of Coral Springs, which provided care management of high-risk, high-cost patientsx insured by HMOs, PPOs, self-insured companiesx and government-funded programs. Essex Woodlands Health Venture and Pequot Capitapl Management invested the mone y in CoordinatedCare Solutions. The fundinbg was the second round of venture capita forthe company.
Othetr South Florida companies that receive venture capital duringthis year's third quarter, according to PWC, BizProLink Network of Fort $3.2 million; Bioheart of Fort Lauderdale, $3.0 OpenClose.com of Sunrise, $2.25 million; and NetByTel of Boca $2.0 million. Through this year's first three quarters, the PWC surveys show 43 Florida companies have received venture capitaltotaling $455 That puts the state far behind last year's recore pace, when 98 Florida companies receivee $1.5 billion in venture capital.