IPO angst in Europe

The European IPO market has sent mixed signals over the past two weeks about whether it's open or closed. Red flags were raised by Speedel Group pulling the plug on its proposed deal and by Arpida Ltd.'s hosing on its first trading day, when it fell 26%. Yet that didn't stop two more companies - TopoTarget A/S and Renovo Ltd. - from announcing plans to go public in Europe.

Signals aside, the situation in Europe is not all that different from that in the U.S., and the bottom line is companies that don't want to step into line with the buyside's valuations should sit on the sidelines. ...