Google Inc's highly anticipated IPO took a major step toward reaching the stock market late on Friday when the online search engine leader opened the Web site where prospective investors must register to bid for the company's shares.
The site (www.ipo.google.com) is meant to be the first stop for anyone interested in getting a piece of an initial public offering (IPO) expected to rank among the largest in the stock market's history.
Last week, Google estimated that its stock would sell for between US$108 and US$135 per share -- a price that would value the six-year-old company at US$29 billion to US$36 billion.
But Google's target price isn't set in stone. The company wants to determine the final IPO price through an auction open to everyone who takes the necessary steps to participate. The egalitarian nature of the IPO is extremely unusual -- a factor that might heighten the already high for the 24.6 million shares that are being auctioned.
Most IPOs are exclusive events aimed at elite investors and the friends and family of the insiders at the company selling the stock.
After Google's auction is completed, the shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol "GOOG."
Google's Web site didn't disclose a timetable for completing the auction. Investment bankers have indicated they expect the auction to be wrapped up within two weeks.
The intense interest in Google's IPO reflects the vast popularity of the company's search engine, as well as the meteoric success of the business. Through the first half of this year, Google earned US$143 million on revenue of US$1.35 billion, more than doubling its earnings and sales of a year ago.
Before doing anything else, prospective investors must register at the Web site that opened on Friday.
After a prospective investor clicks through a series of consent forms, the site gathers a name, address, phone number, an e-mail address and a Social Security number. Once the information is submitted, the site promised to send e-mail a link to a site that provide the ID number. The e-mailed link must be clicked upon within 24 hours for the ID number to be valid.
The ID number is required to place a bid for Google's IPO shares through one of the 28 investment banks participating in the deal.
A list of the participating banks is available at the site, along with all of Google's IPO documents.
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