Groupon eyes £460m fund from IPO
Daily deals site Groupon is looking to raise about $750m (£460m) by floating on the US stock market.
Groupon’s Initial Public Offering could be the second biggest internet company listing on the US stock market since Google in 2004, which valued the company’s market capitalisation at more than $23bn (£14bn).
Groupon shunned a $6bn takeover offer from Google in December last year.
In a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, Groupon reported revenues of $645m (£394.8m) in the first quarter of 2011 and claims its subscriber base has grown from 152,000 in mid-2009 to 83 million in March this year.
The company made losses of $146.5m (£89.7m) in the first three months of 2011 as it expanded into new territories.
Groupon chief executive Andrew Mason said in a letter attached to the IPO file: “If you’re thinking about investing, hopefully it’s because, like me, you believe that Groupon is better positioned than any company in history to reshape local commerce.
“As with any business in a 30-month-old industry, the path to success will have twists and turns, moments of brilliance and other moments of sheer stupidity. Knowing that this will at times be a bumpy ride, we thank you for considering joining us.”
Groupon will trade under the symbol GRPN when it is listed.
There has been a surge of launches of group buying and daily deals sites in recent months, with Facebook, Google and Amazon all launching similar services to rival Groupon.
One of Groupon’s biggest rivals in the UK, LivingSocial, claims it will overtake the former service and become the market leader in the territory by the end of the year.
