

Google’s Founders File to Sell 5 Million Shares Each - fjabre
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-22/google-s-founders-file-to-sell-5-million-shares-each-update1-.html

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spoonboy
With great power comes responsibility. With a 59% interest, Larry and Sergey
had absolute power over Google, and therefore absolute responsibility. Perhaps
the move in China led some to believe that this is too much power. 52% enables
the remaining shareholders to overrule Larry and Sergey's decisions -- in
theory. In order for this to occur, virtually all the remaining shareholders
would need to reach unanimous agreement against a decision made by Sergey and
Larry -- highly improbable, but _possible_. Without absolute power, there is
no absolute responsibility. Conveniently, this also aligns with a liquidation
of billions of dollars.

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bioweek
Nice idealistic thoughts, but the board of directors controls a company. Share
holders can't do much except for vote for whomever they put on the proxy.

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jon_dahl
Within limits, shareholders can elect the board of directors, right?

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bioweek
In theory yes. But let's say 80% of company X shareholders wanted a large one
time dividend payout but the executives of company X don't want to do it.

At the next board election they simply choose two candidates but both who
agree with what the executives want.

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mixmax
Why would Brin and Page sell enough shares to lose their majority vote?
Google's IPO, and their insistence on keeping control of the company via two
classes of shares seems contradictory to this move.

Obviously they don't need the money, and don't need to diversify their
holdings to have a luxurious life. So why do it?

Also, a majority share held by Brin and Page was what was supposed to keep
Google from doing evil.

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ctingom
I doubt they are losing majority vote. They probably have more shares than
anyone else, still. Right?

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walkon
They will have approximately 48% voting power, according to the SEC filing:
[http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/0001193125100...](http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312510011019/d8k.htm)

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Luyt
I would cash a few billions too, if I had the chance. It would allow me to do
things like Bill & Melinda Gates do with their charity funds. Maybe Sergey
Brin plans to eradicate malaria from the world and save millions of children
each year? Maybe Page wants to use his billions to preserve precious
rainforests by buying the land these forests are standing on? After they made
this great company, maybe their ambition is to make great impact on the world,
too.

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mortenjorck
GOOG 550.01 -32.97‎ (-5.66%‎) Jan 22 4:00pm ET

550(5x10^6) = 2.7x10^9

2(2.7x10^9) = 5.5x10^9

So Google's founders are divesting themselves of their company to the tune of
$5.5 billion. I don't know how to understand this at all.

-edit-

In my excitement, I didn't catch that they already did the math in the
article.

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aresant
It's a smart play to do it now when GOOG news is almost overwhelmingly
positive (high earnings etc) so they can say "wealth diversification" and not
have people question their motives. . .

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c00p3r
Chinese fiasco?

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hop
OMG they are reducing their ownership from 15 percent from 18 percent! FUD!

Seriously though, why would you want to leave it all tied up in there and be a
billionaire just on paper. Well unless you're Warren Buffet who has never sold
a share of BRK except to gift to the Gates foundation... Or Ellison who just
takes multi billion $ loans out against his equity pile.

