GM Increases IPO by 31%

General Motors will increase the size of its IPO by almost one-third to meet strong investor demand.

The company said it will increase the IPO to 478 million common shares, 31% more than the planned 365 million. These figures exclude the amount of shares that underwriters have the option to purchase to cover over-allotments.

The banks running the deal stopped taking orders for shares on Tuesday, as they could not meet the demand, The Associated Press reported.

GM is aiming to finalize the share price today and will likely price the offering at about $32 per share to $33 per share. The bankers originally planned a price of no more than $29 per share, the AP said.

The extra offering should bring the U.S. government closer to recouping the $50 billion it spent on GM's bailout in 2009. Still, the price of its remaining shares would have to rise to about $53 a share just for the taxpayer to break even.