Google shares skyrocket

Google share price almost qudruple that of its first offering

21 November 2005 0:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Google's share price has topped the $400 dollar marker meaning those who believed the company still had plenty of vision left in it back in 2004 have almost quadrupled their investment.

Google's shares currently valued at $400.23 at the time of writing shows that the company's share value has increased by 138.16% in less than a year and that the company still has a strong backing even though it has recently run into trouble over its Google Print service.

In August 2004, the company sold some 24.6 million shares at an estimated price of $108 to $135 each via a "Dutch auction" over the Internet.

The sale meant that Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page made themselves billionaires and raised $27bn with which to defend their company from the competitive onslaught it faces from Microsoft and others in the search engine market.

The soaring Google stock price follows a stream of recent announcements. Google opened new offices in Brazil and Mexico; launched Google Base; and was awarded a contract to provide free wireless internet access in Mountain View, CA, where the firm is headquartered.