The $945 million acquisition of Timonium-based transaction service provider Bill Me Later by eBay was the largest merger or acquisition in the United States during the fourth quarter, according to data released Friday by Dow Jones VentureSource.
Nationwide, venture capital-backed companies generated $24.1 billion in liquidity through initial public offerings, mergers, and acquisitions in 2008, down 58 percent from $57.6 billion in 2007.
“With virtually no IPOs and corporations only making choice acquisitions, the liquidity markets have essentially been cut off for venture investors,” Jessica Canning, global research director for VentureSource, said in a statement.
