Chapter 9, Google Goes Public Summary

Over the first few years of Google's existence, the company is not interested in going public through an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the stock market. The company generates enough cash income that selling stock to raise capital is not necessary. By 2004, going public makes more sense because an SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) regulation requires a company with over 1,000 employees to report as if it were public. Major pressure comes from Google's venture capital investors who know that the maximum payout for their investments will come from the public markets. Amid a great deal of speculation, Google files its IPO on April 29, 2004, declaring that the company will sell $2,718,281,828 shares. The number 2,718,281,828 is the mathematical equivalent of e, a nod to engineers and mathematicians. In a letter to prospective shareholders, Page writes that "'Google is not a...