Google Sets IPO Bidding Deadline
Google’s IPO bidding registrations will close at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday August 12th according to Google. “The auction for shares of Google’s Class A common stock will commence soon thereafter,” Google said on its IPO Web site ipo.google.com.
On the heels of reported Google IPO problems including new Federal investigation into missing shares, auction set up, Google’s gifting of a valued $149 million in shares to Yahoo over a trademark dispute, and all around questions about the hype of Google’s initial public offering.
Yahoo and Google Settle on Lawsuit
Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. yesterday announced that the companies have resolved two disputes that have been pending between the companies. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Google will take a license to U.S. Patent No. 6,269,361 and several related patents, held by Yahoo!’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Overture, and Yahoo! dismissed its patent lawsuit against Google. The two parties have also resolved a dispute regarding shares issuable to Yahoo! pursuant to a warrant to purchase Google shares in connection with a 2000 services agreement.
In connection with the settlement of the warrant dispute, the patent lawsuit, and in payment for the license, Google issued shares of its Class A common stock to Yahoo.
Google IPO Delayed a Week
News Interactive reports that a technology problem prevented Google opening on time a website where institutional investors could register to bid, delaying the issue by nearly a week. As a result, the auction is not expected to be held until next week even though the second half of August is traditionally a very quiet period for the stock market.
Google’s error in filing the additional 28 million IPO’s was reported in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, and relates to over 23.2 million shares of common stock and 5.6 million outstanding stock options that the company has issued to employees and consultants. Google did not register those stocks with securities regulators, which can violate federal securities laws.
CNBC adds “Part of the problem, the person said, was that Google’s IPO, which is being led by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group’s Credit Suisse First Boston, is being run through an auction format that had never been tried before. “It’s all new,†the person said. “We just hit a speedbump.â€
