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Telekom Austria, Vernalis Plan to Delist From U.S. Exchanges

European companies are already signaling their intent to take advantage of a pending change in rules that will let them easily cancel U.S. stock listings and escape the regulatory constraints of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Telekom Austria AG and Vernalis PLC, a small Great Britain-based pharmaceuticals company, Tuesday said they plan to delist and deregister from U.S. markets when the rules change on June 4, saying the cost of listing outweighs any benefit. Earlier this month, European staffing giant Adecco SA announced similar plans.

Telekom Austria is listed on the New York Stock Exchange; Vernalis trades on Nasdaq. Both also trade in their respective home countries.

The moves come as U.S. financial officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, grapple with what they see as the shrinking competitiveness of U.S. financial markets. Other stock exchanges, particularly in London and Hong Kong, are winning initial public offerings that previously might have gone to the NYSE or Nasdaq.

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