SEM NewsGoogle close to floating shares
2003-10-24
It has been revealed that Internet search giant Google is close to floating its shares for the first time, potentially as early as the start of 2004.
The firm has contacted more than a dozen investment banks to help arrange a share sale and has reportedly drawn up a shortlist.
Analysts are confident that the time is right for a hi-tech flotation, with investors returning to the market.
It is expected that Google will offer shares on a scale large enough to warrant an investment bank-led transaction rather than selling shares directly to the public.
It has also been rumoured that Google is planning to sell its shares via an online auction in a bid to avoid any brokerage scandals, such as those that occurred during the nineties.
Though Google does not publish financial statements estimates of its annual revenue range from $500 million (£295 million) to $1billion (£0.6 billion), with profits of at least $100 million (£59 million).
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