Google to close bid on Aug 12

WASHINGTON: Google Inc., the Web's No. 1 search engine, expects to close bidder registration for its auction-style initial public offering at 5 p.m. EDT on August 12, the company said on Tuesday.

The auction of the 25.7 million shares of Class A common stock will start soon after the close of registration, Google said in a statement posted on its IPO Web site, http://www.ipo.google.com.

Investors must have a bidder ID to participate in the "Dutch auction" IPO.

Google, has said in offering documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it expects the shares to price between $108 and $135 each.

The company announced yesterday that it had boosted the number of shares it plans to sell in the IPO to 25.7 million, saying it will issue 2.7 million shares to Yahoo Inc. to settle a patent lawsuit.