Introduction  

介绍

Throughout our evolution, from privately held start-up to large, publicly listed company, we have managed Google for the long term—enjoying tremendous success as a result, especially since our IPO in 2004. Sergey and I hoped, though we did not expect, that Google would have such significant impact, and this progress has made us even more impatient to do important things that matter in the world. Our enduring love for Google comes from a strong desire to create technology products that enrich millions of people’s lives in deep and meaningful ways. To fulfill these dreams, we need to ensure that Google remains a successful, growing business that can generate significant returns for everyone involved.  

在我们从私人持有的初创企业到大型上市公司的演变过程中，我们始终以长期视角管理谷歌——因此获得了巨大的成功，尤其是自2004年首次公开募股以来。Sergey 和我曾希望，虽然并未预料到，谷歌会产生如此重大的影响，而这一进展使我们更加迫切地想要在这个世界上做出有意义的重要事情。我们对谷歌持久的热爱源自于强烈的愿望，即创造能够以深远且有意义的方式丰富数百万人生活的技术产品。为了实现这些梦想，我们需要确保谷歌保持成功并持续成长，能够为所有相关者带来可观的回报.

Corporate Structure  

公司结构

When we went public, we created a dual-class voting structure. Our goal was to maintain the freedom to focus on the long term by ensuring that the management team, in particular Eric, Sergey and I, retained control over Google’s destiny. As we explained in our first founders’ letter:  

当我们上市时，我们创建了双重投票权结构。我们的目标是通过确保管理团队——尤其是 Eric、Sergey 和我——保持对谷歌命运的控制，从而维持专注于长期的自由。正如我们在第一封创始人信中所解释的:

I wanted to quote all that because these were the clear, well-publicized expectations we established for investors in 2004. While this decision was controversial at the time, we believe with hindsight it was absolutely the right thing to do. Eight years later, these statements are still remarkably accurate, and everyone involved has realized tremendous benefits as a result. Given Google’s success, it’s unsurprising that this type of dual-class governance structure is now somewhat standard among newer technology companies.  

我之所以引用这些，是因为这些都是我们在2004年为投资者确立的明确且广为宣传的预期。虽然这一决定当时引发了争议，但事后看来我们认为这是绝对正确的做法。八年后，这些陈述仍然异常准确，所有参与者因此获得了巨大的好处。鉴于谷歌的成功，这种双重股权治理结构在新兴科技公司中已相当普遍也就不足为奇了.

  

In our experience, success is more likely if you concentrate on the long term. Technology products often require significant investment over many years to fulfill their potential. For example, it took over three years just to ship our first Android handset, and then another three years on top of that before the operating system truly reached critical mass. These kinds of investments are not for the faint-hearted.  

依我们经验，如果专注于长期，成功的可能性更大。科技产品往往需要多年的大量投资才能实现其潜力。例如，仅推出我们的第一款 Android 手机就花了三年多的时间，而之后又花了三年多时间，操作系统才真正达到关键规模。这类投资并非胆小者所能承受.

  

We have protected Google from outside pressures and the temptation to sacrifice future opportunities to meet short-term demands. Long-term product investments, like Chrome and YouTube, which now enjoy phenomenal usage, were made with a significant degree of independence.  

我们已将谷歌保护在外部压力之外，并避免为满足短期需求而牺牲未来机遇。诸如 Chrome 和 YouTube 这样的长期产品投资，现已享有惊人使用率，其决策过程中具有相当程度的独立性.

  

We have a structure that prevents outside parties from taking over or unduly influencing our management decisions. However, day-to-day dilution from routine equity-based employee compensation and other possible dilution, such as stock-based acquisitions, will likely undermine this dual-class structure and our aspirations for Google over the very long term. We have put our hearts into Google and hope to do so for many more years to come. So we want to ensure that our corporate structure can sustain these efforts and our desire to improve the world.  

我们拥有一种结构，可以防止外部各方接管或不当影响我们的管理决策。然而，日常因基于股票的员工薪酬以及其他可能的稀释（如以股票为基础的收购）所导致的股份稀释，可能会在非常长的时间内破坏这一双重股权结构及我们对谷歌的愿景。我们倾注了心血于谷歌，并希望在未来许多年中继续如此。因此，我们希望确保我们的公司结构能够支持这些努力以及我们改善世界的愿望.

  

Effectively a Stock Split: And a New Class of Stock  

实际上相当于一次股票拆分：以及一种新类别的股票  

Today we announced plans to create a new class of non-voting capital stock, which will be listed on NASDAQ. These shares will be distributed via a stock dividend to all existing stockholders: the owner of each existing share will receive one new share of the non-voting stock, giving investors twice the number of shares they had before. It’s effectively a two-for-one stock split—something many of our investors have long asked us for. These non-voting shares will be available for corporate uses, like equity-based employee compensation, that might otherwise dilute our governance structure.  

今天我们宣布了计划创建一种新类别的无投票权资本股票，这些股票将会在 NASDAQ 上市。这些股票将以股票股息的形式分配给所有现有股东：每个现有股份的持有者将获得一股新的无投票权股票，使投资者持股数量翻倍。这实际上相当于一次 1:2 的股票拆分——这是许多投资者长期以来一直期盼的。此类无投票权股票将用于公司用途，如基于股票的员工薪酬，以免削弱我们的治理结构.

We recognize that some people, particularly those who opposed this structure at the start, won’t support this change—and we understand that other companies have been very successful with more traditional governance models. But after careful consideration with our board of directors, we have decided that maintaining this founder-led approach is in the best interests of Google, our shareholders and our users. Having the flexibility to use stock without diluting our structure will help ensure we are set up for success for decades to come.  

我们认识到，一些人，尤其是那些在一开始反对这种结构的人，可能不会支持这一变革——我们也理解其他公司采用更传统的治理模式同样取得了巨大成功。但经过与董事会的慎重考虑，我们决定保持这种创始人主导的方式符合谷歌、我们的股东和用户的最大利益。拥有在不稀释我们结构的前提下使用股票的灵活性，将有助于确保我们在未来几十年取得成功.

In November 2009, Sergey and I published plans to sell a modest percentage of our overall stock, ending in 2015. We are currently halfway through those plans and we don’t expect any changes to that, certainly not as the result of this new potential class. We both remain very much committed to Google for the long term.  

2009年11月，Sergey 和我公布了出售我们总股票中一小部分的计划，计划于2015年结束。我们目前正处于这一计划的中期阶段，并且我们不预期会有任何改变，当然也不会因这种新型股票而改变。我们双方都仍然非常致力于谷歌的长期发展.

It’s important to bear in mind that this proposal will only have an effect on governance over the very long term. In fact, there’s no particular urgency to make these changes now—we don’t have an unusually big acquisition planned, in case you were wondering. It’s just that since we know what we want to do, there’s no reason to delay the decision. Also note that there will be no immediate change in votes, because everyone will still have the same number. In addition, Eric, Sergey and I have all agreed to “stapling” arrangements so that, above set thresholds, if our economic interest in Google were to decline, our votes would as well. We also have provisions to ensure all shareholders are treated fairly from an economic perspective.  

需要牢记的是，这项提案只会在非常长期内对治理产生影响。事实上，现在没有特别紧迫的理由去进行这些变革——以防你好奇，我们没有计划进行任何异常大规模的收购。只是既然我们知道自己要做什么，就没有理由拖延决定。另外请注意，投票数不会立即改变，因为每个人仍将拥有相同的票数。此外，Eric、Sergey 和我都已同意“捆绑”安排，以便在超过设定阈值时，如果我们在谷歌中的经济利益下降，我们的投票权也会相应下降。我们还制定了相关规定，确保从经济角度公正对待所有股东.

For more details on all of this, please see the postscript below from our Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, and the preliminary proxy statement we will file with the SEC next week.  

关于这一切的更多细节，请参阅我们首席法律官 David Drummond 下面的附言，以及我们下周将向 SEC 提交的初步委托书声明.

  

Conclusion  

结论 

We have always managed Google for the long term, investing heavily in the big bets we hope will make a significant difference in the world. Some of these bets have been tremendous, funding our activities and generating significant gains for our shareholders. Others have been less successful. But the ability to take these kinds of risks has been crucial to Google’s overall success and we aim to maintain this pioneering culture going forward.  

我们一直以来都是以长期视角管理谷歌，在我们希望能对世界产生重大影响的重大赌注上投入巨资。其中一些赌注取得了巨大成功，为我们的活动提供了资金，并为股东带来了显著收益；另一些则不那么成功。但承担此类风险的能力对谷歌的整体成功至关重要，我们将致力于保持这种开拓性文化.

  

The proposal we announced today is consistent with the governance philosophy we articulated when we took the company public, as well as the trend for newer technology companies to adopt strong dual-class structures. We believe that it will provide great competitive strength—insulating Google from short-term pressures, whatever the source, for a long time to come, while also giving us more flexibility around equity grants.  

我们今天宣布的提案与我们在公司上市时阐明的治理理念相一致，也符合新兴科技公司采用强大双重股权结构的趋势。我们相信，这将提供巨大的竞争力——在未来很长一段时间内使谷歌免受任何短期压力的影响，同时也为我们的股票激励提供了更多灵活性.

  

Investors and others have always taken a big bet on us, the founders, and that bet will likely last longer as a result of these changes. We are honored that so many of you have put your trust in us and we recognize the tremendous responsibility that rests on our shoulders. We think this is a good thing because users rely on Google to produce and operate amazing technology products and to safely and responsibly store their data. This is our passion.  

投资者和其他人一直对我们——创始人——抱有巨大赌注，而由于这些变革，这一赌注可能会持续更长时间。我们很荣幸有这么多人信任我们，并认识到肩上所承担的巨大责任。我们认为这是件好事，因为用户依赖谷歌来生产和运营出色的技术产品，并安全、负责任地存储他们的数据。这正是我们的热情所在.

  

Sergey and I share a profound belief in the potential for technology to improve people’s lives and we are enormously excited about what lies ahead. I couldn’t write a better conclusion to this founder’s letter than what we wrote in 2004… so here goes: “We have a strong commitment to our users worldwide, their communities, the web sites in our network, our advertisers, our investors, and of course our employees. Sergey and I, and the team will do our best to make Google a long term success and the world a better place.”  

Sergey 和我深信科技具有改善人们生活的巨大潜力，我们对未来充满无限激动。我找不到比我们2004年写下的更好的创始人信结语……所以话说回来：“我们对全球用户、他们的社区、我们网络中的网站、我们的广告商、我们的投资者，当然还有我们的员工，都怀有强烈的承诺。Sergey 和我以及团队将竭尽所能，使谷歌成为一个长期成功的企业，并让世界变得更美好.”

Postscript from David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer, Google Inc.  

Google Inc. 首席法律官 David Drummond 附言

This is not the usual yada yada… so please read on.  

这不是平常的废话……所以请继续阅读。

Although we’ll be filing a comprehensive proxy statement soon, I wanted to share some details about today’s proposal to create a new class of stock and the process our board of directors followed to approve it.  

尽管我们很快会提交一份全面的委托书声明，但我想分享一些关于今天提议创建新类别股票以及我们董事会为批准该提议所遵循流程的细节。

As Larry and Sergey note above, the stock dividend we are announcing today will have the basic effect of a two-for-one stock split. Each holder of a share of Class A or Class B common stock will receive one share of the new non-voting Class C capital stock. So after the dividend, a stockholder who currently owns one Class A share with a single vote will continue to own that share plus one Class C share without a vote.  

正如 Larry 和 Sergey 上述所述，我们今天宣布的股票股息基本上等同于一次一拆二的股票拆分。每位持有 A 类或 B 类普通股的股东将获得一股新的无投票权 C 类资本股票。因此，在分红之后，当前持有一股带有单一投票权的 A 类股票的股东，将继续持有该股票，同时再获得一股无投票权的 C 类股票。

The Class A shares will continue to trade under the “GOOG” ticker symbol, while the Class C shares will trade under a different ticker symbol, so stockholders will be able to trade these shares, just as they can with Class A shares today. Except for voting rights, the Class C shares will have the same rights as the existing Class A and Class B shares. As is typically the case with stock splits, the Class C stock dividend will be tax-free.  

A 类股票将继续以 “GOOG” 股票代码交易，而 C 类股票则将以不同的代码交易，因此股东可以像今天交易 A 类股票一样交易这些股票。除了投票权之外，C 类股票将享有与现有 A 类和 B 类股票相同的权利。正如股票拆分通常的情况一样，C 类股票股息将是免税的。

One thing to keep in mind is that immediately after the Class C dividend, all stockholders, including Larry, Sergey and Eric, will retain the same voting interest they hold prior to the dividend. In addition, Larry, Sergey and Eric have agreed to subject their shares to a Transfer Restriction Agreement. This agreement will maintain the same link between their voting and economic interests that exists today, even if they sell some of their non-voting Class C shares. If the founders or Eric wish to sell or transfer their non-voting Class C shares, a “stapling” provision in the agreement requires them to either sell an equal number of Class B shares, or convert an equal number of Class B shares into Class A shares. No other stockholders will be subject to these restrictions upon the transfer or sale of their shares. The stapling requirement will terminate as to the founders when their collective ownership falls below a certain threshold, and as to Eric when his ownership falls below a certain threshold. Further details of the Transfer Restriction Agreement will be included in our proxy, but it’s important to note that the stapling provision is designed so that, subject to the thresholds, the votes held by the founders and Eric will be reduced proportionally as their economic interest in the company declines.  

需要记住的一点是，在 C 类股票分红后，所有股东，包括 Larry、Sergey 和 Eric，都将保留与分红前相同的投票权益。此外，Larry、Sergey 和 Eric 已同意将其股票置于转让限制协议之下。即使他们出售部分无投票权的 C 类股票，该协议也将维持他们现有的投票权益与经济利益之间的联系。如果创始人或 Eric 希望出售或转让他们的无投票权 C 类股票，协议中的“捆绑”条款要求他们必须出售等量的 B 类股票，或将等量的 B 类股票转换为 A 类股票。其他股东在转让或出售股票时不受这些限制。对于创始人来说，当他们的集体所有权降至某个阈值以下时，捆绑要求将终止；对于 Eric 来说，当他的持股低于某个阈值时，该要求也将终止。转让限制协议的更多细节将包含在我们的委托书声明中，但需要注意的是，捆绑条款的设计旨在使创始人和 Eric 的投票权在其经济利益下降时按比例减少，前提是满足相应的阈值。

Our board of directors carefully considered this proposal to create a new class of stock before reaching a decision. In January 2011, the board established a special committee, comprised of independent, non-management board members to consider a new class of stock, or other alternatives. This committee retained its own financial and legal advisers to assist with its deliberations, and met on numerous occasions over the 15 months that the special committee considered the proposal separately from the board. The committee recommended, and the board unanimously approved, today’s proposal.  

我们的董事会在做出决策之前，仔细审议了这一创建新股票类别的提案。2011年1月，董事会成立了一个特别委员会，由独立的非管理层董事组成，以考虑新股票类别或其他替代方案。该委员会聘请了自己的财务和法律顾问协助其审议，并在这15个月内多次召开会议，单独讨论该提案。委员会提出了建议，董事会一致批准了今天的提案。

The proposal is subject to the approval of a majority of the voting power of Google’s common stock, voting together as a single class, at our annual meeting on June 21, 2012. Given that Larry, Sergey, and Eric control the majority of voting power and support this proposal, we expect it to pass. The Board of Directors has not set a record date for the issuance of the Class C dividend and currently expects to set the date following the annual meeting.  

该提案需在2012年6月21日的年度会议上，经谷歌普通股以单一类别共同投票的多数投票权批准。鉴于 Larry、Sergey 和 Eric 控制着大部分投票权并支持此提案，我们预计该提案将获得通过。董事会尚未为 C 类股息的发行设定记录日，目前预计将在年度会议之后确定日期。

Next week, we’ll file a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC, which will contain further details regarding today’s proposal.  

下周，我们将向美国证券交易委员会提交一份初步委托书声明，其中将包含关于今天提案的更多细节.