Google today announced plans to raise up to $4 billion (£2.2bn) through a secondary offering on the Nasdaq market in New York.

The internet search and advertising company made its stockmarket debut a year ago through a controversial initial public offering where its original share price of $85 was set through an online Dutch auction.

Morgan Stanley, the investment bank which staged the original auction, will act as an underwriter for the secondary offering. It will be joined by Credit Suisse First Boston and Allen & Co.

Google said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would sell 14.16 million Class A shares. Based on yesterday's closing price of $285.09, the share sale would be worth around $4 billion, or 5 per cent, of Google’s $79.1 billion market value.

Google said it had given its underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional 600,000 shares to cover over-allotments.

Google said it will use the funds for general corporate purposes, including possibly acquisitions, though no agreements or commitments have been made.

"The principal purpose of this offering is to obtain additional capital," Google, which already lists around $3 billion in cash on its balance sheet, said.

Google said it planned to invest the proceeds in "highly liquid, investment grade securities".

Shares in Google fell 3 per cent to $276 in pre-market trades on news of the offering.

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