August 4, 2004

Many investors still aren't aware of some important parts of the IPO bidding process, including the fact that if they don't get a bidder ID number soon, they won't be able to bid at all.

On Tuesday, some of the 28 brokerage firms offering customers a chance to bid for Google's first public shares of stock started displaying blurbs on their Web sites, announcing their participation in the deal. But the blurbs said little else.

``Before you can participate in the offering through us, you will need to obtain a bidder ID prior to the opening of the auction,'' said identical notices on Web sites for E*Trade, W.R. Hambrecht and Fidelity Brokerage Services.

Each steered investors to Google's IPO Web site, www.ipo.google.com, to get the 20-digit number.

When the auction starts, which could be any day now, Google will stop offering bidder IDs to investors, said some people briefed on the deal.

Brokerage firms haven't said much so far because they are still awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the way they'll explain the complex auction to customers.

Here is how the events may unfold:

• Last Friday, July 30, until probably no later than this Friday: Those interested in bidding must get bidder IDs at www.ipo.google.com.

• By Friday or Monday: Bidding will open. Access to bidder IDs will be shut off.

Investors are expected to have about four days in which they can enter the number of shares they want, and at what price, by filling out IPO bidding forms at their brokerage firm's Web site, or by calling their brokers. Investors can make multiple bids, and amend them during this time, as often as they wish.

Investors should be prepared to have enough money in their brokerage accounts to pay for all the shares they have bid for, should their bid be accepted.

There may be only a short window of time between when the bidding stops and when investors are informed that their bid has been accepted. If an investor doesn't have enough money in his or her account during that time -- which could be as little as an hour -- the brokerage firm may cancel the investor's bid or bids.

• Next week, possibly Aug. 10 or 11: Investors will get an e-mail from Google saying the company has asked the SEC to declare the deal ``effective,'' the last step before closing the auction bidding.

• The day after the ``effective'' e-mail alert: Investors will get an e-mail from Google saying the deal is effective, meaning the auction could close in as little as an hour. Soon afterward, investors will be notified that their bid has been ``accepted.'' They can cancel their bids until they receive that notification, but not afterward. Investors won't be notified if their bid has been rejected.

• Later that day or night, on ``effective'' day: Investors will get an e-mail from their brokerage firm telling them whether their bid was among the winning ones. They'll learn how many shares they got at the IPO price. They shouldn't get fewer than 80 percent of the number of shares they bid for at prices at or above the IPO price.

• Day after ``effective'' day: Google shares will start trading on the Nasdaq stock market, under the symbol GOOG.

Source: Silicon Valley.com

        

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