The number of PIPEs — private investments in public equity — slid again in the first quarter, according to a report by DealFlow Media.

Public companies closed 190 PIPEs, raising $10.28 billion in the first quarter, according to the data – a 5 percent fall in deals and a 72 percent tumble in capital investment over the previous quarter.

It marks the third time since 2001 that total quarterly PIPE market issuance dropped below 200 deals, and nearly reached the market’s nadir in the third quarter of 2002, when only 180 deals were completed, the data said.

“As the financial rescue-related “mega-PIPEs” of 2008 recede into history, the prominence of convertible structures over straight common stock deals likewise is beginning to revert to more traditional levels,” Dealflow Media said. 

It said common stock PIPEs accounted for 47 percent of the deals and 24 percent of the total investment in the first quarter. Convertible structures accounted for 32 percent of deals, and 57 percent of investment, down from 81 percent of investment in the year-ago quarter.