Search engine leader Google on Thursday filed in the US to go public, hoping to raise US$2.7 billion in its long-anticipated public offering.
Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston will lead the deal, according to its filing. As expected, Google will take the unusual step of auctioning its shares.
'An auction is an unusual process for an IPO in the United States,' Google said. 'Our experience with auction-based advertising systems has been surprisingly helpful in the auction design process for the IPO. As in the stock market, if people try to buy more stock than is available, the price will go up.
'And of course, the price will go down if there aren't enough buyers. '
As part of its filing, Google for the first time publicly revealed its financial health. For 2003, the company earned US$105.6 million on revenue of US$961.8 million. It also has nearly US $455 million in cash and cash equivalents.
In the first quarter, it earned US $63.9 million on sales of US$389.6 million.
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