Venture capital deal activity continued to slow in the third quarter, while global buyout deal activity rebounded slightly, according to a Preqin quarterly update.
In the venture capital sphere, deal activity has declined in every quarter since a record-breaking second quarter of 2018. In the third quarter of this year, 3,269 deals worth a combined $52 billion were made.
In the third quarter of 2018, 4,288 deals were made for an aggregate $70 billion, according to the update.
The number of deals dropped in most regions, particularly in North America, which was down 16% from the previous quarter, as well as greater China. There were 1,764 combined deals in the two regions in the third quarter of this year compared to 2,886 deals in the third quarter of 2018.
Exits are also on a downward trend, and what the update calls "underwhelming" initial public offerings of some prominent venture capital-backed portfolio companies in 2019 has not improved sentiment.
The third quarter saw 247 exits, the fewest number in the past five years. The total value of exits was $26 billion, down from $73 billion in the second quarter of 2018.
Global buyout transactions fared slightly better in the third quarter in terms of value, with 1,157 transactions worth a combined $86 million were globally, driven primarily by upticks in North America, Europe and "rest of world," while Asia-based deals saw a drop of 48% in value during the quarter to $5.8 billion from $11 billion, according to the update.
What still exists, however, are the challenging economic and geopolitical conditions that slowed global buyout deal activity in the first two quarters of 2019.
Buyout exits, meanwhile, dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter, to 408 in the third quarter.
