NASDAQ-listed US children's entertainment outfit 4Kids Entertainment is floating on the German stock exchange as part of a dual listing.

The New York-based vertically-integrated concern was prompted to go public in Germany by the "extraordinary success" of its children's animation series Pokemon in the territory. The programme, which is aired in Germany by RTL2, reaches between 60%-70% of 3-13 year-old TV viewers in its daily afternoon slot.

4Kids is the fifth company in the animation sector to float on the German stock exchange following EM.TV & Merchandising, RTV Family Entertainment, BKN International and, most recently, TV-Loonland, which floated on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt on March 22.