2016 has come and gone, but numbers—specifically those showing venture capital deal flow and investment amounts—are still trickling in.
TBD as to whether final figures will depict a year similar to 2015’s blockbuster fundings or something more akin to NC’s mediocre showing from 2011-2014. But if the most recent data from the National Venture Capital Association is an indicator, it looks like 2016 may fall somewhere in between.
Top Five Tech Raises
1. Phononic
2016: $71 million Series E
Total: $158.9 million
One of two tech companies to make the top ten list of raises in 2016. See above for more information.
2. Pendo
2016: $20 million Series B in Q4
Total: $33.25 million
Story: The second of the tech companies that made the top 10 list naturally appears on the top tech raises list of 2016. See above for more information.
Location: Raleigh
2016: $18 million Series C in Q2 Total: $29 million Investors: Verizon Ventures, Yamaha Motor Ventures, Bob Young, USAA, Intel Capital, NTT DOMOCO
Total:
Story: The part drone-creator part data-science company raised its third round in the first half of 2016. PrecisionHawk has expanded from a strict agriculture focus to other sectors like insurance and energy and plans to expand to other industries soon too.
4. nCino
Location: Wilmington
2016: $15.67 million in Q2
Total: $64.67 million
Story: The cloud-based bank operating system company, nCino, had a good year of disrupting the banking industry. After a $15.67 million raise in Q2, it ranked 220th on Inc.’s top 500 list and landed SunTrust Bank as a customer.
Location: Durham
2016: $13.85 million in Q4
Total: $26.35 million
Story: SportsMEDIA raised money for the first time in six years in order to acquire a competitor, Sportvision. It’s not the first acquisition either. In 2012, SportsMEDIA acquired Information and Display Systems (IDS), another competitor. The company is now the dominant supplier of real-time, on-screen graphics, tickers, and other digital technologies to the sports broadcasting industry.
Top Five Exits
According to CED, there were 39 acquisitions in 2016, but only 10 companies have publicly disclosed their acquisition prices. This list is based off of those deals.
1. Sensus
Location: Raleigh
Acquisition amount: $1.7 billion in Q3
Purchaser: Xylem
Story: This IoT company uses smart sensors to gather and make sense of utility data. It sold for a cool $1.7 billion to Xylem, a wastewater and water treatment corporation.
Location: Cary
Acquisition amount: up to $1.2 billion in Q1 (McKesson bought 2 companies – Biologics and Vantage Oncology, together for $1.2 billion but the individual purchase prices were not disclosed)
Purchaser: McKesson
Story: The company focused on integrating and aligning care for cancer patients previously raised $29.82 million before it was acquired by McKesson, a healthcare company that delivers pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, supplies and equipment to healthcare organizations.
3. Bamboo Therapeutics
Location: Chapel Hill
Acquisition amount: $645 million ($150 million upfront with a possible $495 million more for a total $645 million)
Purchaser: Pfizer
Story: Bamboo Therapeutics is the only company to appear on both the top 10 raises and top five exits lists. After its Series A raise in February, Pfizer acquired the company in August for what could total $645 million when milestone payments are made to owners and investors. As part of the deal, Prizer also acquired the Vector Core Facility that Bamboo acquired from UNC in January, and Bamboo’s roughly 40 employees.
4. Patheon
Location: Raleigh
IPO: $640 million IPO in Q3
Story: This end-to-end supply chain solution for pharmaceutical companies went public in July. Share prices opened at $29 per share and prices have stayed relatively constant since.
5. ESP/SurgeX
Location: Knightdale
Acquisition amount: $130 million in Q1
Purchaser: Ametek
Story: The electronic power protection device manufacturing company was acquired by Ametek, a Pennsylvania based electronic device manufacturer in February.
**Editor’s Note: PowerSecure, SciQuest, and TowerCo all technically had “exits” and would rank above ESP, but given their history as public companies, and in TowerCo’s case, the acquisition of a “portfolio” of towers, CED left them off the top five list and so are we.
