Google IPO to turn employees into millionaires
Google IPO to turn employees into millionaires: "Google's initial public offering will likely give birth to a new generation of millionaires, led by an immediate $100 million purse for founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page when the search engine goes public in the next few days.In a payday that harkens back to the dot-com wealth of the late 1990s and the legendary crop of Microsoft millionaires, many of Google's 2,292 employees will likely end up holding stock worth big bucks, depending on a variety of factors.
Upon completion of the IPO, the Mountain View, Calif., Internet search firm will have 271.2 million shares. At the $121.50 midpoint of Google's IPO price range of $108 to $135 per share, Google would carry a total market cap of about $33 billion.Dividing the market cap by the number of employees brings up a stock market"
The expected crop of Google millionaires evokes tales of the most famous batch of millionaires in the tech world from No. 1 software maker Microsoft (MSFT: news, chart, profile).
The company has delivered thousands of wealthy stockholders from the ranks of its management, sales and engineering staff.
Microsoft alumni helped kick off firms such as RealNetworks (RNWK: news, chart, profile), started in 1994 partly with stock option money raised by CEO Rob Glaser, who worked at the software giant for 10 years.
The poster child for former Microsoft employees' wealth is co-founder Paul Allen, riding the crest of the money wave that has transformed Seattle. See full story. Microsoft workers had $3.5 billion in stock-option income in 2001, on top of $2.4 billion in wages, according to a Microsoft economic study cited by the Seattle Times. The economist who authored the report estimated the number of Microsoft millionaires near 10,000.
Stories continue to surface about Microsoft millionaires. Retired Microsoft President Jon Shirley's name popped up recently after he spent $557,000 at a charity auction for a new Ford GT sports car.
In its IPO filing, Google acknowledges that, "employees may be more likely to leave us after their initial option grant fully vests, especially if the shares underlying the options have significantly appreciated in value relative to the option exercise price."
But the search firm stresses that it values its employees and that it'll try to keep them.
"Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything," Google said in its IPO filing. "We will reward and treat them well."
Google already provides free meals, doctors and washing machines to employees.
"Expect us to add benefits rather than pare them down over time," the company said.
As a possible example to the Google millionaires, Google is setting up a charity called the Google Foundation with about 1 percent of the company's equity and profits.
The company also lists an unusual "Don't Be Evil" policy in its IPO filing.
"We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served -- as shareholders and in all other ways -- by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains," Google said. "This is an important aspect of our culture and is broadly shared within the company."
posted by Jen @ 10:03 AM
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