Facebook fallout chills IPO market

(Reuters) - The number of initial public offerings in the second quarter ground to a halt because of Facebook's disappointing public debut, according to new data from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Thomson Reuters.

While Facebook Inc's $16 billion offering made the second quarter the strongest period on record by dollars raised, the number of deals fell by 50 percent to 11 in the quarter versus the same quarter last year.

"There's no question that the psychological fallout from the Facebook IPO, coupled with economic uncertainty in Europe, put a chill on the public markets for most of the second quarter," Mark Heesen, president of NVCA, said in a statement released on Monday.

Facebook, one of the most closely watched and highly anticipated companies to go public, fell flat with its IPO after investors questioned its ability to rapidly grow advertising revenue and after technical glitches on the NASDAQ. Its shares are trading below its $38 offering price. The stock closed at $31.10 on Friday.

However, Heesen said the year could turn out strong because of the number of venture-backed mergers and acquisitions deals -- up 61 percent from the first quarter of 2012-- looking to go public.

For the second quarter, eight of the 11 companies that went public listed on the NASDAQ and the remaining listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By Jennifer Saba; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)