Ebb & Flow

Last week's venture rounds by Switzerland's Speedel and Italy's Newron might suggest the two are taking themselves off the list of potential European IPO candidates for this year, as both returned to the private markets for financings of about $40 million each. But the reality is that both did U.S.-style top-up rounds to give them the flexibility to either go public from strength or stay private for longer.

Indeed, Speedel maintains that the series F round is not in lieu of a potential IPO. Spokesperson Nick Miles said the round "gives us more in the backpack if and when we decide to go public. We didn't want to be forced against the wall. Some companies in the past year have been pushed and pushed to go public - you see this in the pricing."...