Two large acquisitions involving locally based companies spurred aggregate deal value to $6.4 billion in the first quarter, according to a report provided to Columbus Business First by Worthington-based venture capital consulting firm Innovation Forward LLC. That's up from $859 million in the first quarter of 2014 and, in fact, higher than during any 12-month period since 2007. "I think that the economy has grown enough and it feels stable, it reduces the risk a little bit for these really large, career-endangering deals if they go bad," Innovation Forward Principal Mark Butterworth told me.