The third quarter proved to be a mixed bag for US venture capitalists as capital raised via initial public offerings hit the highest level since 2007, but mergers and acquisitions of venture-backed companies totalled 71, consistent with pre-boom numbers of 1999, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. Overall, venture-backed liquidity is

The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm investing in companies with enterprise values of under EUR150m, has acquired Crioestaminal, a company that isolates and cryopreserves stem cells from umbilical cord blood. Riverside is acquiring the Portuguese company with some of the founders and key members of the management team.

The PowerShares Listed Private Equity Portfolio will begin tracking the Global Listed Private Equity Index, and will be renamed the PowerShares Global Listed Private Equity Portfolio. The fund will continue to be offered on the NYSE Arca under the existing ticker symbol PSP. The fund had previously tracked the Red

Monsal, an environmental technology company backed by Matrix Private Equity Partners in 2007, has completed the first phase of planning, pre-design, permitting and support services for a food anaerobic digestion and renewable energy contract in March, Cambridgeshire.  The project will generate sufficient electricity to supply 1,500 homes, or approximately six

ApoCell, a molecular diagnostics laboratory that analyses the effectiveness of new compounds for the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, has received an investment from growth equity investor Summit Partners. The investment will be used to fund ApoCell’s organic growth initiatives and continued development of the company’s technology platforms. “The

Venture capital investment in green technologies totalled USD1.9bn in 112 deals in the third quarter of 2009, up from USD836m in 59 deals in the first quarter of 2009 and USD1.2bn in 85 deals in the second quarter, according to Greentech Media. Solar power was once again the leading investment

TargetCast Networks, a provider of out-of-home digital TV advertising, has received USD6.5m in its second formal round of venture capital funding from Claremont Creek Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. TargetCast previously raised USD6.3m in a series A investment led by Claremont Creek Ventures in September 2007. To date, the company

Vitech Systems, a provider of software and services to the alternative asset community, has signed seven new clients to the Equitrak platform during the first half of 2009. These clients include Caledon Capital Management, IDeA Capital Funds SGR, Hauck & Aufhauser, and Thomas Weisel Partners Group. Equitrak is a multi-lingual,

ThermalTherapeutic Systems, a developer of portable platform technology to standardize hyperthermic perfusion, has completed a USD2.75m series A financing. After receiving initial start-up funding by the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and successful rounds of private financing which included follow-on investments by the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and Innovation Works, Originate

HarbourVest Global Private Equity, a closed-end investment company listed on Euronext Amsterdam, has reported a 3.3 per cent rise in net asset value over the six months to 31 July 2009. As at 31 July 2009, HVPE’s NAV was USD652.0m or USD7.86 per share. This represents an increase of USD0.25