ipo 6

On Google going public.

Google IPO. Their SEC registration is very readable – and gives a perspective on how corporate governance should be.

Very interesting article on Google on Wired. One interesting point the article raises towards the end is this: “As a private company, Google has one master: users. As a public company, there are shareholders to worry about.” And the interests of these may not be aligned. Shareholders may want more ad revenues. Users do not want ads. Shareholders may want paid placements. Users do not. Once Google IPOs, I suspect its quality will fall.

Salomon Smith Barney sold the CEO of WorldCom lots of IPO shares at a low price. The CEO made lots of money. Technically, that’s a bribe to your customer. But then, so is every free offer, or cross-sale. What makes the SSB-WorldCom deals illegal, this article argues, is that they’re so BIG, and they’re made of OTHER people’s money.

KPMG Consulting is going public.

Now that SEBI has relaxed the IPO floor from Rs. 250 crores to Rs. 100 crores, we can see a lot more IPOs.