EXHIBIT n.3
April 14, 2010
Gabriela Martes
Global Venture Capital Services
VentureSource / FIS / Dow Jones & Co.
201 California Street, 10th Floor
San Francisco, CA 93111
Dear Gabriela,
Hercules would like the consent of VentureSource/Dow Jones to use the following paragraphs in our upcoming Filing. If acceptable, please sign and fax to me at 866.811.3908.
Thank You,
Sally Borg
Unfulfilled Demand for Structured Debt Financing to Technology-Related Companies. Private debt capital in the form of structured debt financing from specialty finance companies continues to be an important source of funding for technology-related companies. We believe that the level of demand for structured debt financing is a function of the level of annual venture equity investment activity. In 2009, venture capital-backed companies received, in approximately 2,400 transactions, equity financing in an aggregate amount of approximately $20.5 billion, representing a 32% decrease from the preceding year, as reported by Dow Jones VentureSource. In addition, overall, the median round size in 2009 was $5.0 million, down from $7.0 million in 2008. These decreases were primarily a result of contraction of the capital markets experienced during the past year. Overall, seed- and first-round deals made up 18% of the deal flow in 2009, and later-stage deals made up roughly 56% of all capital invested.
/s/ Gabriela Martes
Gabriela Martes, Global Venture Capital Service
4/15/10 Date
400 HAMILTON AVENUE
SUITE 310
PALO ALTO, CA 94301
TEL: 650.289.3060
FAX: 650.473.9194
WWW.HTGC.COM