Investors opt out of Google gains
Published: 18 Aug 2004 16:25 BST
High-profile Google investors John Doerr and Michael Moritz are taking a hit in the company's revamped IPO, leaving neither to pocket any immediate gains from the much-hyped offering.
Google announced on Wednesday that it would not only reduce its pricing range -- to between $85 and $95 (£47 and £52) per share -- but also cut the number of shares offered to 19.6 million from 25.7 million. This share reduction came from Google's selling shareholders: management and its early investors.
And while Google's two founders and its chief executive agreed to slice the number of shares they would sell in the IPO by roughly half, early investors Doerr, a partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Moritz, a partner with Sequoia Capital, will now be getting zero.
In its latest filing with the SEC, Google noted that, in an unusual move, neither venture capitalist will be selling any shares in the offering. Previously, Doerr and his firm planned to sell 2.1 million shares in the IPO, and Moritz and Sequoia 2.4 million shares, according to a Google filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Neither Doerr nor Moritz, nor their respective firms, were immediately available to comment.
Typically, venture capitalists look forward to the day when their portfolio companies either go public or are sold. That's when they're able to finally reap the profits of their earlier investments and return some of that wealth to investors in their venture funds.
For Doerr and Moritz, this means waiting until another day to sell the shares. One opportunity may come if demand for Google's shares rises with the reduction in the pricing range.
The selling shareholders can supply the underwriters with 2.9 million additional shares if needed, according to the SEC filing. Doerr or Moritz may be able to participate through that avenue.
While Doerr and Moritz are stepping aside from participating in the IPO, some institutional investors have previously noted they were hoping to see Google's founders and management sit on the sidelines for the IPO.
Chief executive Eric Schmidt is cutting the number of shares he will sell in the IPO to 368,965, down from 737,930. Meanwhile, co-founder Sergey Brin plans to sell 481,113 shares, down from 962,226, and co-founder Larry Page will sell 482,415 shares, down from 964,830.
"They've violated all 10 commandments of doing an IPO," said Tom Wyman, a portfolio manager for Husic Capital Management, in an earlier interview with ZDNet UK sister site CNET News.com.
Wyman noted that Google senior executives are selling their shares as part of the IPO, which is unusual for initial public offerings. Typically, executives, as well as employees, cannot sell their shares for some period after the IPO is completed.
Schmidt, Brin and Page should "stand next to (Google's) investors" by waiting for the lockup period to expire, rather than selling their shares as part of the IPO, Wyman said.
Companies often find that their shares dip from the height of the first day of trading. And while the shares sometimes pick up momentum later on, they may dip again before the lockup expires and more shares potentially come into the market.
Google has 4.6 million shares that have the potential of hitting the market 15 days after its IPO, but a much larger wave will come in 30 days, when 24.9 million shares face a lockup expiration, according to the company's SEC filing.
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