Google Inc. plans to sell another 5.3 million shares of its prized stock, hoping to raise more than $2 billion to finance its ambitious plan to expand beyond its Internet-leading search engine.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Wednesday, Google said it expects to sell the 5.3 million shares primarily to index funds who must own a stake in the company because it's now in the S&P 500. Google's market value has climbed by more than 15 percent since Standard & Poor's said it would include the company's stock in the blue-chip bellwether.

Based on Wednesday's closing price of $394.98 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Google's offering would raise about $2.1 billion.

But news of the offering, disclosed late Wednesday, raised red flag for some investors worried that the increase in outstanding stock will make it more difficult for Google to reach the lofty earnings-per-share target set by analysts. Google's shares dropped $12.09, or 3.1 percent, in extended trading.

If the latest offering is priced near Google's current market value, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company will have raised about $7.5 billion from investors in the past 20 months.

By: docMemory
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