Google Awaits SEC Approval of IPO

The Securities and Exchange Commission did not give its final approval Tuesday to the long-awaited initial stock sale of Google Inc.

The Internet search company had requested that its registration statement be made effective at 1 p.m. PDT, but regulators made no decision before the SEC’s close of business.

SEC spokesman John Heine declined to provide a reason for the delay. Google representatives did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Google had planned to close its share-price-setting auction as soon as one hour after receiving the SEC’s blessing. If that had happened, winning bidders could have been notified and shares could have been traded on Nasdaq as early as today.

The company has updated its regulatory filings several times since first announcing its plans to go public in April. Typically, companies work closely with the SEC to ensure all paperwork is in order, making final approval a routine process.

Google expects its 25.7 million shares to be priced between $108 and $135 each in what could be a $3-billion initial public offering, which would be a record for an Internet company. If the stock trades at the midpoint of Google’s range, it would have a market capitalization of about $30 billion -- lower than Yahoo Inc.’s but above General Motors Corp.’s.

The Mountain View-based company, which makes money by selling text advertising, managed to prosper as a private company even while other dot-coms were collapsing. In the second quarter of this year, Google earned $79.1 million, or 30 cents a share, on $700 million in sales.