About 460 companies were bought for $46.4 billion last year, down 13% from 2010, but the deals were valued 30% higher, compared with the $35.6 billion spent in 2010, according to a Dow Jones VentureSource report.
The median price vaulted 77% to $71 million in 2011. Funding rounds were down 12%, to an average of $17 million raised before exit, reflecting lower start-up costs.