There’s blood in the water. WashPost (reg required) rounds up the scathing headlines and commentary here. The Merc, NYT, WSJ, the Post, the FT….the list goes on and on. The journos are piling on. And Google is in a quiet period, so it can’t defend itself. But there are plenty of folks willing to say nasty things, especially those on Wall St. who felt snubbed by Google’s middle finger of an S-1. As I wrote in April when the S-1 was first filed:
They’ve set themselves a very high long-term bar, claiming they will best the system, in essence. I think it will be very interesting to see how Wall Street responds. There is a chance, in the end, that the Street will feel slighted, and turn its back on the company.
It looks more and more like the n o n traditional IPO is becoming a problem for Google.
I tried n o n w/out the spaces, but got “Your comment could not be submitted due to questionable content: n o n”
Thanks for the heads up on “non” I removed it from my MT Blacklist.
Why is Google opting for an IPO? Their revenues and ability to get debt would be a far less dangerous way to get needed capital, and they could continue to stay secretive and private. The IPO seems completely contrary to Google’s business model. I believe it will hurt them in the long run.
I don’t think they will delay the offering. This is made up by smart money bidders… Think about it – if you suspect the IPO will be suspended, would you rush to place your bid?
When there are fewer bids, this means smaller demand and hopefully lower clearing price for the bidders and a pop when it opens.
All this negative talk is a clever plot to discourage potential bidders. I remember back in April (when YHOO traded at a price close to today’s price) bold calculations of the valuation of 40B or even 50B… Now even 30B seems too much.
And I love to see when everyone is complaining about the price range as if this is the price Google wants for its shares. The price is so high because those same investors are trying to outbid each other to get a piece of Google. Nobody is forcing them to bid within the range. In a Dutch auction you bid what you think the item is worth. In the case of Google, if you think a share is worth $99 you bid $99…
I don’t know any other company (except perhaps EBAY) that has reached such huge revenue and profits in such a short period of time. It took Microsoft twice as long.
I also don’t know any company which is more creative and is run more effectively than Google. Or that hires more talented people.
Google is simply the smartest, company that ever existed and no matter what happens they will continue to innovate and compete as they have done so far.
The press is feeding us with stories how Microsoft or Yahoo are competing with Google for piece of the action… As if Google is just sitting on the same place and doing nothing.
Where the revenue will come from, the investors are asking? Well, Google will definitely not tell that. They were secretive about their business model from the very beginning but they still found a way to make money with a terrific profit margin.
They are getting the press and the lack of confidence that they deserved all along, with many in the industry press afraid to speak the truth about Google.
They do NOT have as much power as many in the press have given them without even bringing objective questions forth such as why Google finds it necessary to data mine through spyware software like the toolbar, the Puffin hard drive software, Gmail, Orkut and the deskbar, not to mention cookies in Google search.
When the industry press is willing to discuss these important industry issues they will gain more respect.
Can some of you explain why Federal lawmakers and even state lawmakers are moving against ADWARE and SPYWARE but members of the industry press will not address these issues as they really should.
Are thay AFRAID of Google?