Canadian VCs invested $375 mln in Q2 2004, up 48%

Activity in Canada's venture capital industry in Q2 2004 reflected growth, with $375 mln invested. That is up 48% from Q2 2003, when investors poured $254 mln into Canadian VC. However, VC activity was down 8% from Q1 2004, when $407 mln was invested. More companies received a piece of the action, though, as 202 Canadian businesses received cash infusions, surpassing by 14% the 177 that scored in Q1; those numbers were comparable to the 204 VC-backed firms in Q2 2003. The average company financing size in Q2 was $1.9 mln, which is up from the $1.2 mln of a year before but down from the $2.3 mln of Q1. YTY growth in Canadian VC activity appears to be part of a North America-wide trend. Thomson Venture Economics reports that American industry disbursed $5.6 bln to 761 companies in Q2, up from $4.8 bln in second-quarter 2003, as well as the $5 bln registered in Q1 2004.