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Google IPO: additional 29 underwriters named
"Come on in, the water's lovely!"

By Stefanie Olsen

Published: Monday 24 May 2004

Google filed an amendment to its initial public offering documents on Friday, naming 29 additional financial institutions as underwriters for its planned $2.7bn offering.

In addition to lead underwriters Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston, which were previously disclosed, Google will employ Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Thomas Weisel Partners and WR Hambrecht, among others, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

On 29 April, Google filed with the SEC to raise about $2.7bn in a stock sale later this year, which will be one of the biggest sales of a technology company's stock since the internet's salad days.

The company plans to sell shares via an open auction process, with the hopes of levelling the playing field for smaller investors. Typically, institutional investors run the show, setting the share price of an offered stock and allocating shares to parties of their choice. Google's IPO will allow interested investors to bid for shares at a price they're willing to pay. Whichever bid is highest will win.

No date has been set for the stock offering but it is expected to happen this year. Investors will need to have an account with one of the underwriters.

Other Google IPO underwriters include Allen & Co, Citigroup, UBS, Piper Jaffray, Lazard, Merrill Lynch, Ameritrade, MR Beal, William Blair & Co, Blaylock & Partners, Cazenove, E*Trade Financial, Epoch Partners, Fidelity Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities.

Stefanie Olsen writes for CNET News.com.