-
30/4/2004 08:15
0
seminoles
N° messaggi: 41 -
Iscritto da: 17/3/2004
The wait is over. This will hack off Wall St.
Google, perhaps Silicon Valley''s most famous and iconoclastic company, registered to go public Thursday, ending more than a year of intense speculation and signaling that it does not intend to sit idle in the face of strengthening competition.
The Internet search company hopes to raise about $2.7 billion in an initial public stock offering that will defy convention by auctioning shares directly to the public. The timing of the sale has not been set.
Befitting the company''s non-conformist reputation, Google''s filing with the Securities Exchange Commission was accompanied by a unusual letter, from founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, that vowed to maintain the company''s focus on innovation and ``making the world a better place.''''
``Google is not a conventional company,'''' Page wrote in the seven-page letter, inspired in part by investor Warren Buffett''s essays in his annual reports. ``Eric [Schmidt, CEO], Sergey and I intend to operate Google differently, applying the values it has developed as a private company to its future as a public company.''''
The founders vowed not to give financial guidance to analysts, as is customary, and to resist pressures from Wall Street for strong earnings, quarter after quarter.
``A management team distracted by a series of short-term targets is as pointless as a dieter stepping on a scale every half hour,'''' the former Stanford students wrote in their letter.
Page also said the company would contribute as much as one percent of its equity and profits to a foundation that it hoped would help tackle the ``largest of the world''s problems.''''
Security at the Googleplex -- the company''s Mountain View headquarters -- was tight, with security guards patrolling parking lots and turning away reporters. But the mood among employees -- many of whom will become millionaires by the end of the summer -- appeared euphoric.
Near noon, a procession of about 50 grinning Google employees who work at a nearby building marched to headquarters for a company-wide meeting. Though the employees declined to speak to reporters on order of the company, the excitement was palpable from the sea of smiles and excited chatter.
After the meeting, Edwina Beaus, in a white Google t-shirt was smiling. Of the news, she said, ``It feels great.'''' When asked whether a nearby building belonged to Google, she replied, ``No, but soon we''ll own everything.''''
The registration document filed with the Securities Exchange Commission provided the first glimpse at the secretive company''s financial performance, which was mostly in line with analyst expectations.
Google reported net revenues of $962 million last year, and profits of $105 million. Revenues have grown steadily every quarter between March of 2002 and last month, when the company took in $389 million.
The vast majority of the company''s revenues -- 96 percent -- came from advertising, most of that from the text ads that accompany search results on its main Web site. Total advertising revenues grew 122 percent between March of 2003 and last month. Licensing of the Google search technology and other areas accounted for 4 percent of revenues.
``People have been talking about a $1 billion company, and that''s what we saw,'''' said Mark Mahaney, Internet analyst with American Technology Research. ``Outside of all the hype, these numbers are impressive. In just two years they have grown into a $1 billion company. The growth is very impressive.''''
Google was the top search destination Web site last month, attracting more than 65 million Web surfers, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Yahoo! Search and Microsoft''s MSN Search were the second and third most popular search destinations, with about 48 million and 45 million unique visitors, respectively.
But both Yahoo and Microsoft are bulking up their search products, and analysts are predicting a bruising battle for users among the top three companies.
The stock sale will significantly strengthen Google''s already strong financial position. The company reported having $455 million in cash and equivalents at the end of March, and just $38 million in debt. By the end of the summer, Google could have more than $3 billion at its disposal, far more than Yahoo now has.
``I certainly hope that in three years we''re not talking about 95 percent of revenues from search advertising,'' Mahaney said. ``They''ll have more capital and they''ll be able to expand into new applications and new markets.''''
Google''s insistence that it intends to be a different public company and not bend to the will of investors and Wall Street was met with both applause and skepticism.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Heidi Roizen said that Google may try to downplay the importance of quarterly financial reports and refuse to give guidance to investors.
``But people will make estimates anyway and if your stock goes down and there are investor lawsuits...I''m just not sure if you can get away with it,'''' Roizen said. ``In some ways I''m thrilled, because they''re testing so many things.''''A
Ask Jeeves Chief Executive Steve Berkowitz said expected he his search rival -- and business partner -- to take a maverick stance. But he''s not sure how long Google can maintain it.
``I believe they believe what they are saying, that is not just a statement to look good,'''' said Berkowitz. ``This is who they are. The question is, as the marketplace gets more competitive, as the world become more competitive, will this philosophy work out or not.''''
Outsiders have said that going public may change the six-year-old company''s quirky, scrappy culture. The enormous wealth bestowed on its employees, for example, could inspire many of them to leave in pursuit of other goals.
Apparently mindful of this threat, Google warned that its costs may grow to pay for bonuses and ``other incentive arrangements'''' to retain employees.
As expected, Google turned to Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston to manage its stock offering.
Google said the price of its IPO would determined through an auction designed that it hoped would give ordinary investors a better shot at buying its stock. Typically, IPO shares are distributed to a select group of people chosen by investment bankers.
Page and Brin apparently hope to shield themselves from outside pressure by crafting a two-class stock structure that will allow them to closely control the company. Google will sell Class A common stock to the public, but the founders will control Class B stock, with 10 times the voting power.
Observers said Google''s approach to being public company may alienate some investors seeking a more traditional structure, but it may also appeal to a broad base of individual investors who have felt alienated by a recent string of corporate scandals, including the Enron and WorldCom debacles.
``They''re sending a subtle message that we want a different kind of shareholder,'''' Roizen said. ``The question is whether there are enough of them out there....It looks great. But only if it works.''''
|
Monitora più quotazioni in tempo reale dalle principali borse, come Borsa Italiana, NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, Bovespa e altro ancora.
Informazioni sulla discussione
Torna alla Lista
Aggiorna Lista
