Google has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to declare its initial public stock offering effective on August 17 at 4 p.m. EDT, possibly putting the search kings' shares on the high-tech NASDAQ trading composite the following day, and with those who've bid on the stock notified by Google, according to a Google e-mail updated obtained by some news organizations August 16.
Bids on Google stock, the e-mail reportedly said, could be accepted "in as little as one hour after the notice of the effectiveness of the registration is sent to you," according to CBS MarketWatch.
"Please be advised," said a notice on Google's IPO Web page August 16, "that Google and the underwriters have requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission declare the registration statement pertaining to Google's initial public offering of Class A common stock effective on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). Holders of bidder IDs will be sent a notice of effectiveness once the registration statement has been declared effective."
The company further said in that notice that bidders "should access the current prospectus and carefully reconsider your bid(s). Bids may be accepted by the underwriters in as little as ONE HOUR after the notice of effectiveness of the registration statement is sent to you. You may withdraw your bid(s) by contacting your brokerage firm at any time until the notice of acceptance is sent to you. Please note that submitting a bid does not guarantee that you will be allocated shares in the offering, if it is completed."
The unusual auction to determine Google's initial stock price began as arranged August 13, in spite of Google having to file an amended SEC filing on the IPO to account for the Playboy interview with co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Google said in the amended filing they would fight any claim it violated federal law, but admitted a penalty potential if found guilty of doing just that.
"We do not believe that our involvement in the Playboy Magazine article constitutes a violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933," said the amended filing. "However, if our involvement were held by a court to be in violation of the Securities Act of 1933, we could be required to repurchase the shares sold to purchasers in this offering at the original purchase price for a period of one year following the date of the violation."
The early estimates had held that Google shares could price between $108 and $135 each, but a recent downturn in Internet stocks and a round of shaky publicity attached to the search kings in the past two weeks could, according to some analysts, put the prices down to the $70-115 per share range.
The SEC is said to have opened an "informal inquiry" into Google's having failed to register millions of shares, shares the company earlier disclosed they might have given improperly to workers and consultants, but Google said late August 16 they could face fines "or other sanctions," though it wasn't yet clear whether this would affect the IPO itself.=
Google has since offered to buy back the shares, but it wasn't clear whether the holders in question would agree to sell them back or take Google to court over the issue in due course.
