Google has registered to be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange for its upcoming $2.7bn initial public offering, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
The search company, which filed to go public in late April, had not previously disclosed information on its chosen stock exchange, and it has yet to propose a trading symbol.
Google's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicates the end of a duel between the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, staunch rivals that were clamouring to host the technology IPO, one of the most widely anticipated this year.
Stock exchanges not only collect healthy fees from registrants, they gain renown from the clout of their listed companies. The Nasdaq is largely known for its technology constituency, which has been battered by a slump of late. Having Google on board could lift its stature.
"Google is an outstanding company with a great management team, and we wish the company well with its initial public offering," the NYSE said in a statement on Monday. The Nasdaq could not immediately be reached for comment.
Google filed with the SEC on 29 April to raise about $2.7bn in a stock sale later this year. Google's lead underwriters are Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston. In May, the search company named 26 additional bankers, including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase and Lehman Brothers. It has removed Merrill Lynch from the list.
The search company plans to sell shares via an open auction process, in hopes of levelling the playing field for smaller investors. Typically, institutional investors run the show in an IPO, setting the share price of an offered stock and allocating shares to parties of their choice. Google's IPO is designed to allow interested investors to bid for shares at the price they're willing to pay, and the highest bid wins.
No date has been set for the stock offering. Investors will need to have an account with one of the underwriters.
