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Google Slashes IPO price

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the welcome-back-to-hype-island dept.

Hungry Student writes "In breaking news, Reuters and the BBC are reporting that Google has reduced the price of its IPO to between $85 and $95 per share from $108 to $135 per share. Google shareholders are also reducing the number of shares available for sale by 6.1m to 5.5m. The total number of shares available is currently 14.1m."

23 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. Pre-IPO getting less shares owners selling less by stecoop · · Score: 5, Informative

    The initial price per share for Google stocks has been lowered to $85-$95 down from speculative high of $130. This will create a market capital less than $26 billion down from $36 billion. Noted that the confounders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, disclosed that they intended to sell 1 million shares each but will now sell 480,000 shares in the range of $90 per share valued at about $43 Million. In addition, the pre-ipo market will get 5.5 Million shares, half the originally anticipated. View the Complete prospectus.

    1. Re:Pre-IPO getting less shares owners selling less by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Do you really believe that a company like Google is worth $100+ a share?
      -----

      That depends on how many shares they issue. Think about it--suppose they only issued 1 share and it cost $100. You'd have 100% ownership of Google for $100. Now, that's obviously not going to happen, but it points out why you have to look at more than just the share price.

  2. Two class of voting shares - Founders keep power. by deragon · · Score: 5, Informative

    And for those who are not aware, there exist two classes of voting share, one class that offers 10 votes per share reserved to the founders and CEO, and another which as 1 vote per share, for the rest of us.

    See: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technolog y/2004-05-16-google-nonvoting_x.htm/

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  3. OT: 10M Post by tigre · · Score: 3, Informative

    Also, Slashdot's 10 millionth post today! Perhaps in this story even! WOW!

    Nope it's here!

  4. Watching Google by p0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those interested, you might want to try Watching Google Like a Hawk. They provide news and analysis of Googles IPO, their services and future plans. A lot of information for anyone looking forward to the IPO.

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    This is my sig. There are thousands more, but this one is mine.
  5. Further SEC problems by Ignignokt · · Score: 2, Informative

    The SEC has also requested further information about their Playboy interview, which will delay the IPO further.

  6. Re:1/2 share by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Informative

    You can't directly buy a fractional share on the stock market, but there are companies like ShareBuilder.com and FolioFN.com who only go to the market during "trading windows" where they group all of their customers purchases and sales together in order to avoid unneeded market activity costs and they can divide the shares into fractional numbers among the customers. Whatever less-than-a-share fraction goes unallocated ends up being owned by the company as part of the cost of doing business.

  7. Re:Good by evslin · · Score: 2, Informative

    I just looked. Microsoft's running at 27 right now.

  8. Re:Good by AliasTheRoot · · Score: 3, Informative

    Share price is irrelevent, it's the number of shares that exist (either on the market, or held internally) that determine overall value.

    (roughly anyway, i'm sure it's more complex than that).

  9. Re:Where ARE they headed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If they were to want to sell the stock to non-US persons, they would have to go through the registration process (such as it is) in every other country.

    If you want to buy shares, set up an account with a US broker, like everyone else does. They will buy it in trust for you. And just so you know, US persons have an extremely difficult time buying shares of foreign companies directly. That's why there are ADRs.

  10. Windows Already... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...HAS a built-in search.

    XP gives you the option to search the Internet from the same dialog you use to search for files on your computer.

    Unless Longhorn adds searches to a prominent toolbar, it shouldn't make any difference. Even if it does, look on the bright side: We can always look forward to another antitrust suit. :)

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    tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
  11. Google doesn't set the price by BillFarber · · Score: 5, Informative
    Google has reduced the price of its IPO to between $85 and $95 per share from $108 to $135 per share.

    This is a dutch auction. Google is not setting the price. The price they mention is simply an estimate of what they expect the final offering price to be.

  12. Re:Impossible Valuation by Short+Circuit · · Score: 2, Informative

    The "Next" Google will have to be pretty darn impressive. Google just keeps producing more and more ideas. Check out the "more" link from their main page, or Google Labs. (Google Sets is my personal favorite...)

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    tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
  13. Re:Good by Asprin · · Score: 4, Informative


    No, that's pretty much it. That's where market capitalization comes in - in simple terms it's the total of all the outstanding shares multiplied by the share price. A sort-of "net value" of the company if you wanted to pay cash for all of it.

    One $10 share in a company with a market cap of $1,000 is a greater percentage of ownership than one $100 share in a company with a market cap of $1,000,000.

    However, that doesn't change the rules of arithematic. The $100 share is still worth - on its own - 10 times the $10 share.

    --
    "Lawyers are for sucks."
    - Doug McKenzie
  14. Google's SEC Filings are available online by bludstone · · Score: 4, Informative

    here:

    http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=get company&CIK=0001288776&owner=include

    The S files are the interesting ones.

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    no .sig
  15. Re:Where ARE they headed? by Sheepdot · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, this happens a LOT for US IPOs. Sometimes it is even *required by law*.

  16. Re:Exciting day! by k98sven · · Score: 2, Informative

    Lucky bastard. This guy only got 1/10th of that.

    (25000 rupees = 540 bucks)

  17. anyone who reads fuckedgoogle already knew this by girltard · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.fuckedgoogle.com

    seriously funny shit- too bad the original fuckedcompany has absolutely NOTHING about this disaster.

  18. Re:History by R.Caley · · Score: 5, Informative
    Er, isn't this a dutch auction? Brokers should have no ability to offer shares to prefered customers first, since you will have put your bid in long before share allocation begins.

    The only way you could be blocked out would be if no broker was willing to act for you.

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  19. Re:why an IPO at all? by CommieOverlord · · Score: 3, Informative
    There is no other point to an IPO.

    Yes there is actually. Say you have a company that is getting off the ground and you need to raise $50M to build a factory or whatever, then there are three ways to finance the factory:
    1. Self-Financed: Have the company start really small and save up enough to money to buy it. Problem is that this could take a really long time. Decades maybe.
    2. Debt-Financed: Talk to banks or venture capitalists to arrange a loan. Problem is that you owe people money, and interest as well.
    3. IPO: Sell $50M worth of shares and use that to finance the factory. It's fast and it leaves the company debt free.
  20. Google Doesn't Care by Positive+Charge · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sure the guys want to make some money, but they made it explicitly clear that the only reason they are having an IPO is that the SEC was going to enforce public reporting requirements on them anyway. All indications are that they would have been perfectly happy staying private.

    That's why they got away with the 10x voting shares for the insiders, and for that matter the Dutch auction.

  21. Google IPO? No Thanks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04043010.htm

  22. No, Google does set the price by nothings · · Score: 2, Informative
    You seem to have missed the part of the prospectus where they explain that they reserve the right to set the stock price to a value other than that determined by the auction.

    During the bidding process, we and our managing underwriters will monitor the master order book to evaluate the demand that exists for our initial public offering. Based on this information and other factors, we and our underwriters may revise the public offering price range for our initial public offering set forth on the cover of this prospectus. In addition, we and the selling stockholders may decide to change the number of shares of Class A common stock offered through this prospectus. It is very likely that the number of shares offered will increase if the price range increases.

    and

    The initial public offering price will be determined by us and our underwriters after the auction closes. We intend to use the auction clearing price to determine the initial public offering price and, therefore, to set an initial public offering price that is equal to the clearing price. However, we and our underwriters have discretion to set the initial public offering price below the auction clearing price.