"A123's Smash-Hit IPO Could Herald More Green Debuts"

"SAN FRANCISCO -- A 50 percent leap in the shares of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc on their first day of trading looks likely to jumpstart the market for clean-tech share offerings.

The Watertown, Mass.-based A123 Systems is now worth over $1.9 billion, a striking valuation for a company that has yet to make a profit and still needs large-scale commercialization.

Industry executives and experts said A123's success shows investors have an appetite for green technology companies that lose money, but have tremendous potential.

So the stock's first day jump, which is the second-best performance for a debut stock in 2009, should encourage more venture capital-backed clean technology companies to go public, they added."

Poornima Gupta writes for Reuters September 25, 2009.