Google IPO hits more trouble
Google Inc., the Web search engine, on Wednesday slashed the price range on its eagerly awaited initial public offering to between $85 and $95 per share from $108 to $135 per share.
Google also said shareholders are reducing the number of shares they plan to sell to 5.5 million, a reduction of about 6.1 million shares, or more than 50 percent, in light of the lowered price.
Google said it still plans to sell about 14.1 million shares.
The Mountain View, California-based company disclosed the changes in a statement posted on its IPO Web site, http://www.ipo.google.com.
The changes reduce the maximum size of the IPO to about $1.9 billion, and the potential maximum valuation of the entire company to less than $26 billion, a decline of more than $10 billion, based on securities filings.
Google also said it asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to declare its registration statement effective as of Wednesday, 4 p.m. EDT. It said it plans to file an amendment to its registration statement on Wednesday morning.
Google shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "GOOG."
Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley are arranging the IPO.
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