Google Latest News about Google followed a familiar script as it discounted its IPO Wednesday, but the reduction marked a bigger-than-usual price cut even for a company going public in 2004.

The closely watched Mountain View, Calif.-based tech firm on Wednesday delayed its expected stock-market kickoff by a day and slashed its estimated price range to $85 to $95 per share from an earlier level of $108 to $135.
Google also trimmed the size of the deal to 19.6 million shares from nearly 26 million, and it delayed the stock's open-market trading debut to Thursday.

Not making history While Google's expected proceeds of $1.9 billion would still make it the largest Internet IPO of all time, it'll no longer crack the all-time top 10 in U.S. IPO purses.
Earlier, Google had designs on more than $3.5 billion in proceeds.

IPO Precedent

General Electric (NYSE: GE) Latest News about General Electric insurance Latest News about insurance spinoff Genworth is now set to maintain its crown as the highest-value IPO of the year, with proceeds of $2.8 billion.

Debuting in May, Genworth was one of many deals to cut its price, setting its IPO level at $19.50 per share, below its estimated range of $21 to $23.
Genworth's debut came amid a flurry of activity in the IPO market whose likes were unseen since 2000, with dozens of stock-market debuts and new offering filings.

IPOs peaked around the time of Genworth's deal, and they then started cooling off.
In recent days, deals have dried up as the IPO market has moved into its traditional summer slowdown and the overall market has slumped.

Moribund IPO Markets
Last week, for example, American Seafoods postponed its $450 million IPO after it failed to drum up enough interest despite a price cut to $13.50 to $14, down from $15.20 to $16.80, and a trimming of the IPO size by 10 percent to 30.74 million shares.

The all-but-moribund IPO conditions no doubt contributed to Google's move to discount its price by 26 percent.
Google also ran into regulatory probes of its pre-IPO quiet-period behavior following a magazine interview with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

The SEC is also probing the awarding of about $26 million in stock options to employees.
Just browsing Investors, though they initially showed great eagerness to own a piece of the Google juggernaut, appeared to balk at the psychological barrier associated with a $100 price tag on newly minted shares -- during a dreary phase in the overall market, no less.

Investment Banks
Investment banks such as former Google underwriter Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) Latest News about Merrill Lynch chafed against the IPO's experimental Dutch-auction IPO system, which sets a price based on bids from individuals rather than having the price determined by the bankers and institutional investors.

Despite the cooling of the IPO market and its reduced price, Google's increased visibility provided an overall lift to some in Silicon Valley.
Raul Valdes-Perez, CEO of rival search firm Vivisim, said Google's IPO price cut won't hurt his efforts to ramp up his business.

"We don't have any external investors, so nobody keeps an eye on such short-term fluctuations," Valdes-Perez said.
Overall, he added, "the Google IPO has been a great thing for the search industry, increasing the interest level of investors and the general public."

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