According to a published report, which did not cite a specific source, Web search engine Google Inc. may conduct its eagerly anticipated initial public offering on 10 August, which is next Tuesday. The company's planned mid-August IPO, conducted through an auction process, might raise as much as $3.3 billion.
According to the Wall Street Journal, some investors believe that the demand for Google shares won't increase until the stock falls to about $100 per share, below the $108 to $135 per share that the Mountain View, California-based Google has estimated it is worth.
Google, whose shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "GOOG," began taking bids on 30 July for the "Dutch auction" process it is using to offer 24.6 million shares. Bidders may apply on the www.ipo.google.com web page to get an ID number to participate in the auction. They will have to indicate the price they are willing to pay and the number of shares they want. Google and its lead underwriters, Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley, will determine the highest price at which there is demand for all of the shares, and price the shares at or below that price.
