Google Admits It Was A Tad Optimistic: Lowers Range, Cuts Shares

from the let's-try-that-again dept

Whoops. All the negative publicity seems to have caught up with Google. Beyond delaying the IPO due to the SEC process, it looks like not nearly as many people chose to bid in the auction as they expected. They've now cut the expected pricing range and the number of shares offered. The range is now $85 and $95 and there are 6.1 million fewer shares offered. However, those 6.1 million shares are all from insiders who decided to hang onto their shares at the lower price, meaning Google, itself, is still selling the same number of shares (just at a lower price). While many people expected Google to come in under their initial range, it's still a pretty big drop in valuation. On the whole, though, I think the fact that fewer insiders are selling is a good thing. As I've said before, having insiders sell out during the IPO is a definite sign of trouble. However, now more than half of the original insiders seem to think the shares are somewhat underpriced in the $85 to $95 range. Update: Details of who held back are now available. Surprisingly, it's Google's VC backers who have decided to sell no shares. Also, the triumvirate of Schmidt, Brin and Page have all cut the number of shares they're selling in half. The article (finally!) notes how odd it is that insiders are selling in an IPO.

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