• by August 19, 2004

So, it's official. Google is now a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq.

Finally.

Amid all the hype, the intrigue, delays, repeated SEC filings, stock buy back issues, and the Playboy magazine controversy, shares of the company were finally priced at $85, well below the $135 per share estimates.

As it turns out, the Google IPO will offer 19.6 million shares, not the 25.7 million as originally planned. Google hopes to raise $1.67 billion. We'll see.

Blame the economy or jittery investors. Or blame Google for trying an unconventional approach to its IPO that taught us about online Dutch auctions.

Either way, it'll be fun to see what happens next. Right?