Small-Cap IPOs Shun U.S.

For now, Leonard is exploring another round of venture funding.

AIM isn't likely to become a serious threat to the Nasdaq.

Small-cap companies, after all, don't rule the financial world, and the Nasdaq is more interested in going up-market as it challenges the New York Stock Exchange than in fighting over small fry.

But AIM and other new exchanges outside the U.S. are attracting the kind of fast-growing, innovative companies that made Silicon Valley the world capital of technology, says Michael Moe, CEO and chairman of ThinkEquity Partners, a growth-oriented investment bank.

And that's not likely to change. Investors, says Moe, don't really care what ticker a company trades under or where the exchange is located.

Indeed, one obstacle to offshore listing has been the relative difficulty U.S. investors face when buying or selling equities on AIM or certain other foreign exchanges.

But as interest grows, it's likely that the restrictions that make electronic trading difficult will ease, says Moe.

Until then, investors looking for hot growth prospects will have to work a bit harder.

But if Moe and many others in the venture capital and investment banking businesses are right, it will be well worth the effort.

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