Playboy interview hiccup fails to dislodge Google IPO

Google sidestepped yet another potential problem last week to move closer to its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO), with investors being allowed to start bidding on the company last Friday.

The potential hiccup was an interview published in Playboy magazine with co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, which could have broken the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules about disclosing information not included in their public filings.

To avoid an SEC-enforced delay, Google rapidly revised its prospectus last week to include the full text of the interview, as well as correcting various discrepancies in the article, clearing the way for the company to start its $3bn (£1.6bn) IPO auction.

Although the interview only took place on April 22, a week before Google started filing for its IPO, the magazine only hit the newsstands on Friday.

The company's lead underwriters, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston, have not disclosed how long the auction will run for, but various papers have speculated that bidding will be wrapped up by later this week, with shares then starting to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Google has estimated the price of the 25.7 million shares at between $108 (£58) and $135 (£73).