2011 IPO Market Slightly Less Stagnant Than 2010 IPO Market

Great news! The IPO market of Q1 2011 was better than the IPO market of Q1 2010. But sadly, that’s not really saying much, because the first quarter of 2010 saw all of eight venture-backed IPOs.

And the first quarter of 2011 saw just three more, according to VentureSource.

Eleven venture-backed companies went public, which, while slightly better than the year-earlier number, was down from 14 in the previous quarter. In last year’s first quarter, eight IPOs raised $711 million. The 11 that went public in Q1 of this year raised $768 million.

So not much of an improvement, but an improvement just the same and one that offers a little reassurance to the 45 U.S. venture-backed companies currently in IPO registration.

“U.S. venture-backed companies are still struggling to go public and many of those that do hold IPOs are pricing lower than expected,” VentureWire editor Scott Austin said in a canned statement. “But there are signs the second quarter could pick up–the IPO pipeline remains strong and some companies may be waiting for their 2010 financial results to be audited before they try to price.”