Google to issue 14m shares to raise $4.2bn warchest

by Staff, Brand Republic 15-Sep-05, 15:00

NEW YORK - Google has confirmed plans to raise $4.18bn in funds by issuing a further 14m shares, in a move that could give it a huge warchest for internet acquisitions.

The company revealed the share issue in an official filing, saying that the shares would be offered at a price of $295 a share, following on from its initial public offering just over a year ago.

The offer is the biggest secondary offer by a technology firm since 1996.

The move has raised speculation that Google will use the funds to expand its presence in Asia, particularly in China.

However, the company faces stiff competition to snap up viable internet properties from other giants including News Corporation and Yahoo!, each of which has been on the internet acquisition trail this summer.

EBay is also in on the act. Last week, it agreed to buy the internet telephony company Skype for more than $4bn.

Separately, Google has also unveiled a new search tool this week. Known as Blogsearch, it will allow users to search the internet for blogs on their favourite subjects.

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