Is Groupon Public Yet?

Has Google Already Beating Groupon? Not long ago, Google offered to buy Groupon for $6 billion. Soon thereafter, Groupon did another round of private equity financing that essentially paid off company founders and early investors such that they have already locked in sizable gains. That might be a very good thing since Groupon seems to be in trouble before it even goes public. Update: Groupon has updated its IPO filing documents again. Follow the link for the latest. Groupon’s IPO Filing Groupon has already had to adjust the documents it originally filed in order to do an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. It de-emphasized a widely mocked financial metric that essentially didn’t count certain expenses. That isn’t a huge thing by itself, although it does potentially show what Groupon thinks of the sophistication level (or lack thereof) of those who would buy Groupon’s IPO. Groupon’s management took the somewhat controversial step of trying to comment on all the negative publicity its IPO has been getting by sending out a company-wide email to employees saying exactly the kinds of things that you aren’t allowed to say during the SEC mandated “quiet period” before a public offering. Of course, they were …

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Groupon IPO Better Hurry UP

Not long ago, news that Groupon had spurned Google’s $6 billion takeover bid was released and I couldn’t help but thinking that maybe Groupon had succumbed to pop-star diva mentality, where everyone except you and the flatterers you surround yourself with know that your future at the top is shaky at best. Later reports suggested that Groupon was worried that the deal might eventually be blocked by regulators and that the company would be left holding the bag after spending over a year in waiting mode. That makes more sense, but I still thought the clock was ticking. After that, reports suggested that Groupon raised more money to buy out early investors who wanted to cash out. Looks like I’m not the only one worried about the future. The main issue with Groupon is that the barrier to entry, or the so-called economic moat, around its business model is virtually non-existent. Sure, other small VC-funded startups might have trouble taking on the deal of the day website, but a well funded competitor would have no problem replicating what the company does quickly. Yesterday slammed home just how urgent the Groupon IPO is. Living Social, one of the Groupon competitors that …

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