A how-to guide for investing in Google A how-to guide for investing in Google (August 06, 2004)

Bidding could begin any day in Google's long-anticipated and unorthodox IPO. The "dutch auction-style" IPO is designed to give small investors a chance to bid on shares.

To bid on the IPO, go to www.ipo.google.com to sign up for a bidder ID. Next, share that ID with one of the 28 brokerage houses that will participate in the Google auction. When bidding opens, submit a bid for the number of shares and the price at which you want to buy them, making sure you have enough money in your brokerage account to cover the bid.

Google and the underwriters will then set an IPO price based on the highest price at which there is demand for all of the shares, called the "clearing price."

Everyone who bid at or above the clearing price will then be allocated a certain number of shares at that price. Underbidders will be left out. Overbidders may not wind up paying the full price they are willing to, but if too many people intentionally overbid, it will drive up the clearing price, a phenomenon Google's prospectus refers to as "the winner's curse."

Google's expected range for its IPO is $108 to $135 per share. There will be close to 25 million shares available.

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