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Smart Grid Off to a Slow Start with Only $76 million in Q1 2011 VC Funding Compared to $188 Million in Q4 2010
Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and
consulting firm, today released funding and merger and acquisition
(M&A) activity for the Smart Grid sector during the first quarter of
2011.
VC funding in the Smart Grid sector decreased significantly in Q1 2011
with $76 million raised in 13 deals. In comparison, VC funding in Q4 of
2010 was $188 million in 18 deals. "After a 2010 banner year for Smart
Grid, it remains to be seen if the first quarter of 2011 was an anomaly
or a trend," commented Raj Prabhu, Managing Partner at Mercom Capital
Group. The first quarter of last year (2010) also started slow with
only $89 million raised by VCs, then picked up significantly in later
quarters.
The top five transactions accounted for almost 82 percent of total
transactions, led by GridPoint with $24 million, Control4 with $15
million, Viridity Energy with $14 million, Powerit Solutions with $5
million and UTILICASE with $5 million.
Twenty-one different VCs participated in the funding rounds. The USA accounted for most, with eight out of 13 total deals.
Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the Smart Grid sector
amounted to $300 million in nine deals in Q1 of 2011. The most
significant M&A transaction was Schneider Electric's acquisition of
Summit Energy for $268 million.
For a complete list of Q1 2011 transactions in the Smart Grid sector, visit: http://www.mercomcapital.com/cleanenergyreports.php
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