Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have revealed plans to sell shares currently worth $4.4bn over the next two years, in a move that would leave them little room for further sales without ending their combined control of the company.
The disposal plans, revealed in a regulatory filing, would leave the Google founders with barely half the shares they held when they took Google public in 2004. However, their remaining combined stake would still be worth nearly $45bn.
The expected sales were disclosed as part of a 10b trading plan, under which executives report their intended disposals but give up control over the timing of when the sales are made.