Just call Larry Page and Sergey Brin billionaires. The two co-founders of Google each plan to sell up to 7.2 million shares of their Google stock over the next 18 months, which at current market prices would bring them each a windfall over $1 billion, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission November 19.
The same documents say Google chief executive Eric Schmidt plans to sell about 2.2 million of his Google shares to cash in on the company stock price that’s doubled since the company’s August initial public offering. That would be worth $373 million at current market prices for Schmidt.
The trio plans to retain most of the company stock they’d still own and thus keep control of the online search king, with Page and Brin reportedly holding about 31 million shares each and Schmidt, 12.2 million shares, all of which is worth at today’s market price over $2 billion. Google stock closed the November 19 trading day at $169.40, up $1.86, on the high-tech NASDAQ exchange.
The Google triumvirate plans to sell their stock through what are known as automated trading programs, a technique designed to keep investors from questioning the timing of the stock sales. There had been selling restrictions on 39.1 million Google shares held by insiders but those were lifted November 16, provoking a very brief 7 percent decline in Google stock, according to one report. And 227 million more Google shares come eligible to trade from December 16 through February 24.
At least one venture capital firm with significant Google holdings has also begun to unload Google stock. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said in their own SEC filing that they sold 5.78 million shares November 17 for $997 million, a whopping appreciation on an investment that originally cost them $12.5 million in June 1999.
