October is hotspot for US IPOs

OCTOBER is set to be the hottest month for initial public offerings in the US since the height of the dotcom boom in August 2000.

Sixty companies floated in that month. Thirty-one will have come to market this month, and many are already receiving investor approval. While high-profile IPOs from DreamWorks Animation and Shopping.com were up 38% and 60% respectively on their first day of trading, lesser-known companies also made quick gains.

Build-A-Bear Workshop's offering of 7.5m shares closed its first day at $25.05, 25% above the launch price. The company, which has 'workshops' in Croydon and Sheffield where customers make their own stuffed animals, raised $150m(£82m) to fund its expansion plans in Britain and elsewhere.

Another one to stand out amid October's IPOs was media company Planetout, catering to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Its shares gained 16% on their first day.

But it is Google that continues to play to investors' appetite for new offerings. The online search company's shares, launched at $85, were up another $7.30 to $190.30 yesterday and many believe they will pass $200 today.