2005: a good year for Austrian private equity

Last year was another good year for Austrian private equity, according to recent figures released from AVCO, the Austrian private equity and venture capital association. Fundraising in the region reached a peak in 2005 at €217m compared to €122m in 2004. A total of €243m in 172 transactions was invested in 2005, up from €141m in 2004.

Allocation of these investments differed slightly with a greater proportion allocated to start-up (€28m in 2005 compared to €16m in 2004.) Expansion capital continued to account for the lion’s share of investment with €77m, although this was down on the previous year’s €105m figure. Buyout investment remained static at €18m and replacement capital witnessed a revival up from no deals to €20m.

By sector, computer-related deals accounted for the majority of investment with €24.8m, although this was down on 2004’s figure of €30.2m. Industrial products and services followed with €14.6m, up considerably from the previous year’s figure of €3.9m. Both the communications and chemicals and materials sectors also fared better in 2005 with investments reaching a total of €12.9m and €10.3m, respectively, compared to €3.7m and €0.3m the previous year. The biotechnology and manufacturing sectors didn’t fare so well down from peaks of €21.2m and €20.4m, respectively, in 2004 to €5.6m and €7.8m in 2005.