Monday, November 29, 2010

Is GroupOn Like YouTube?

Groupon logo.Image via WikipediaFor one I was thinking GroupOn was not going to want to get bought. It had a great independent future, I thought. But perhaps the GroupOn founders felt like they were a one trick pony, and they were not going to be able to ride the imagination wave year in year out, and another hot company will show up, the buzz will move on. And Google wanted the sexy back bad.

I have read only headlines of rumors so far. But I guess this is for real. They went ahead and did it, they tied the knot. Google has made no secret about its passion for local and location. And this purchase puts it in a pretty sweet spot. And Google gets the sexy back.
Vator.tv: Google buys Groupon for $2.5 billion?: The rumors were first reported by Kara Swisher of All Things D, who claimed that Google and Groupon were already in acquisitions discussions.... Groupon was rumored to be considering raising funds that would value the company at $3 billion..... reports that Yahoo was looking to woo Groupon for as much as $4 billion ....Founded in 2008, Groupon’s revenues are said to be upward of $50 million a month, and an enormous round of fundraising in April raised Groupon’s valuation to $1 billion. With 20 million subscribers and footholds in 29 countries across Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia, Groupon has inspired hundreds of clones, some of which have, in recent months, begun outpacing Groupon (think LivingSocial). Despite the dozens of rumors about acquisitions by Google, Yahoo, and eBay, Groupon has maintained that it wishes to stay independent.
I am a little perplexed though. I don't see Zynga getting bought. I thought maybe GroupOn was in that same league. But, hey, three billion dollars are a lot of money.

I would be interested in the details of the deal that brought this about.
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