Google launched its long-delayed share auction on 13 August 2004, opening bidding at 9:00 am Eastern after a week's postponement. The company planned to sell 25.7 million shares at a price between $108 and $135 each, with the final figure set by auction demand. At the upper end of that range, Google's implied market value would exceed $36 billion, placing it alongside rival Yahoo.
The debut carried immediate legal risk after co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin gave an interview published in the September 2004 issue of Playboy. The conversation touched on Gmail and post-IPO company culture, raising questions about whether it violated quiet-period rules that restrict public disclosures in the run-up to a stock offering.
Google added the interview as a risk factor in an updated prospectus, warning that an adverse Securities and Exchange Commission ruling could force it to repurchase shares at the original offering price. SEC staff were reported to have begun a review, though an agency spokesman declined to comment.
The company said it believed no violation had occurred and would contest any contrary finding. Google's prospectus included a text-only copy of the article and corrected several statements it contained, noting that competitors had narrowed Gmail's lead on storage capacity. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston were underwriting the offering, which represented roughly nine percent of the company's capital.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.