GOOGLE co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will share about $US5.5bn ($6.1bn) in cash under plans revealed at the weekend to lighten their stake in the internet search giant.
Under a five-year stock trading plan, Mr Page and Mr Brin, who met at Stanford University in the US in 1995 before starting Google, each intend to sell about 5 million shares.
The plan would cut their combined holding from about 18 per cent to 15 per cent and reduce their voting stake from 59 per cent to about 48 per cent.
“These pre-arranged stock trading plans were adopted in order to allow Larry and Sergey to sell a portion of their Google stock over time as part of their respective long-term strategies for individual asset diversification and liquidity,” Google said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Such trading plans are widely used by company founders to gradually diversify their investment portfolios.
Google said Mr Page, who serves as president overseeing products, and Mr Brin, who is president overseeing technology, were “both as committed as ever to Google and are integrally involved in our day-to-day management and product strategy. The majority of their net worth remains with Google.”
In November 2004, the pair revealed an 18-month plan under which they each sold 7.2 million shares. The pair are tied at No 11 on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans.
Google last week reported a 13 per cent rise in December quarter revenue to $US4.95bn, which disappointed investors.
Google shares, which made their stock exchange debut at $US100 in 2004 and more than doubled last year, slumped 5.7 per cent to $US550.01 in New York on Friday night. In after-hours trading, they were lower again at $US548.10, valuing the California-based business at almost $US175bn.
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