European I.P.O.s Get Boost from Sarbanes-Oxley

Initial public offerings of European venture-backed companies rose sharply in the second quarter of this year, as entrepreneurs and investors flocked to exchanges unburdened by the requirements of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Thirty-one venture capital-backed European companies completed I.P.O.s in the second quarter of 2006, the highest quarterly number since the Internet bubble-era heyday of the fourth quarter of 2000, a period that saw 35. All but two went public on European exchanges.