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A vast transatlantic stock market emerged on Tuesday when the New York Stock Exchange won control of pan-European market operator Euronext, creating an entity worth 29 billion dollars linking trading platforms in six cities.

The two markets said in a statement that the NYSE had acquired 91.42 percent of Euronext capital and 92.22 percent of the voting rights according to a provisional tally of shareholder acceptances.

The new leviathan, creating the first inter-continental stock market capitalised at about 22 billion euros, will bring markets in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon under one group and will also include the Liffe financial futures market in London.

A vital point is that companies quoted on each market will continue to operate under existing regulations. European companies will not be affected by severe accounting rules, as stipulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, which are much criticised in the United States for increasing costs on quoted comapnies.

Yahoo: NYSE buys Euronext, forming first inter-continental stock market

The number of venture-backed initial public offerings awaiting their stock market debut more than doubled at the start of 2007 with a tech filing from Omneon Video Networks marking a late-entry addition to the roster.

Hailing largely from the tech sector, the ranks of venture-backed IPOs swelled to 36 as of Tuesday, up from 16 in the year-ago period, but down from 51 at the start of the busy fourth quarter of 2006, according to a survey by the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Financial.

Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said an overhaul of the Sarbanes-Oxley law could help small companies eying IPOs.

“There is the potential to see measurable Sarbanes-Oxley relief for smaller public companies in 2007, which would be a welcome boost for the U.S. IPO market,” Heeson said. “In absence of this reform, however, venture capitalists will look at other liquidity paths — foreign exchanges or sale to financial intermediaries — as viable exit alternatives in the coming year.”

Marketwatch: Venture-backed IPOs perking up