"Venture-backed merger and
acquisition activity remained stable in the third quarter of 2004 with
eighty-three companies acquired, according to Thomson Venture Economics and
the National Venture Capital Association. Forty-three companies disclosed a
combined value of $3.92 billion and the average deal valuation was $91.2
million for the quarter. While the average valuation was approximately 3%
lower than the second quarter, it was 44% higher than the third quarter of
2003.



...
Software targets had a strong third quarter, making up 39% of all deals,
with thirty-three companies acquired. Of these, seventeen disclosed a total
value of $1.5 billion.


....
An examination of funding histories reveals that 79% of the companies
acquired in 2004 received their first round of venture financing prior to the
technology bubble burst. Of the 18 companies that received greater than 10x
the venture investment this year, 11 were funded pre-bubble burst. These
figures demonstrate availability of viable exit options for companies that
survived the recession."