The Maine Angels is one of the most active angel investment groups in the country, according to the most recent Halo Report, a national survey of angel investment activity.
The group, a collection of affluent individuals who pool their resources to invest in and mentor early-stage companies, closed 14 deals during the second quarter of 2014, enough to have it listed in the Halo Report as one of the eight most active angel investment groups in the country. Those 14 deals totaled nearly $1.3 million in investment in early-stage companies, though not all in Maine, according to Sandra Stone, chair of the Maine Angels.
Of the Maine Angels’ 14 deals in Q2, five were in companies new to the group’s portfolio. None of the five are Maine-based companies, but all are in New England, according to Stone. The other nine deals are what are known as “follow-on” deals, meaning further investment in companies already in the group’s portfolio. Three of those follow-on investments were in Maine startups: Pika Energy in Westbrook; Portland biotech firm Abogen; and Academic Merit, a Portland-based provider of online education software. The Maine Angels recently was ranked first in the nation for having a follow-on rate of 80 percent over the past five years. The follow-on rate measures how many of an angel group’s portfolio companies receive additional rounds of funding after the initial investment.
So far this year, the Maine Angels have invested more than $2 million in 25 separate deals.
Being one of the top eight most active groups is an accomplishment given that the Angel Capital Association includes nearly 200 active angel investment groups in the country. Joining the Maine Angels on the Halo Report’s most-active list during the second quarter are the Alliance of Angels in Seattle, Central Texas Angel Network, the Desert Angels in Tucson, Golden Seeds in New York City, Houston Angel Network, Boston-based Launchpad Venture Group, and Tech Coast Angels in southern California. The Halo Report is released quarterly by the Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights.
As a region, angel investment groups in New England closed 15.6 percent of total deals in the second quarter, ranking it second only to California.
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