Google founders to sell off shares
Looking to shed majority control of search giant
Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page seem likely to give up majority control of their company in a share sale.
The duo will shed around 11 per cent of their stake in the search firm, from 59 per cent to 48 per cent, relinquishing control through majority voting rights.
PC Pro is reporting that Page and Brin are looking to shed the shares over the next five years, with the deal netting them over £3 billion at current share prices.
While they will be giving up majority voting rights, the CEO Eric Schmidt will still hold 10 per cent power in the firm, so the management team will still be able to shape the direction of the search engine's fortunes.
Committed
"They are both as committed as ever to Google," a spokeswoman told the BBC. "They are integrally involved in our day-to-day management and product strategy. The majority of their net worth remains with Google."
Brin and Page created Google in 1998, and have grown it into a brand worth over £13.5 billion in that time.
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
However the firm has been branching out into a number of new arenas in recent years, such as the Android search platform, so fresh investment and direction could be necessary to keep Google functioning at the sharp end.
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.