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03 Nov 2011 21:38

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Biz: Groupon’s IPO downsizes, then upsizes again (just a little bit)

  • $13.3 billion Groupon valuation ahead of their IPO
  • $20 the cost of Groupon’s shares during its upcoming IPO
  • 35M the number of shares the company plans to sell, up from 30 million
  • $700M the amount of money the company plans to raise with the IPO source
  • » It was supposed to be way higher than this: Back when Groupon first floated the idea of their IPO, the expected valuation was $15 to $20 billion, a number which threw investors off and led to allegations that 1) they were overhyped, 2) Groupon was an elaborate ponzi scheme and 3) their IPO is a sign that a fresh tech bubble is on the way. They backed off some of the higher valuations, but then set the price at $20 per share, instead of the expected $16-18. When it finally hits, it’s going to be an interesting ride, to say the least.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 19:35

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Biz: Groupon restates its 2010 revenues … by more than half

  • $713.4 million the amount Groupon originally stated as its 2010 revenues
  • $312.9 million the amount the company changed that to today … damn source
  • » How does one misstate $400 million in revenues? Good question! Let’s ask the COO, Margo Georgiadis, what she thinks happened. Oh wait, she just resigned after five months and went back to Google. Meanwhile, chief executive Andrew Mason says that her departure offers an opportunity “reorganize in a way that reflects our evolving strategic priorities.” Great answer. We learned so much from that statement. (Edit: To explain what happened, when Groupon sold a coupon, they counted the entire coupon as revenue, despite the fact they only got half of the coupon. The SEC said that was a no-no, so now Groupon looks a lot less valuable.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jun 2011 22:48

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Biz: Does Groupon’s IPO suggest a bubble ready to pop?

  • I think investors will go for this one. Whether or not it’s worth the valuation it comes at is still an open question.
  • Jacob Funds chairman Ryan Jacob • Asking a fair question about Groupon’s IPO, which the company expects to raise three quarters of a billion dollars, and could put the company’s valuation in the tens of billions. Are we in another tech bubble? Probably. If it pops, will it pop on the day Groupon hits the stock exchange? Probably not. Still though — Groupon has only been around for a little over two years (yet it feels like much longer), so they’re the ones who’ll probably get more scrutiny than anyone else here. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2011 10:17

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Biz: Head-to-head: Which service is better, Groupon or LivingSocial

  • I wanted to dig into the whole group buying daily-deal craze and see if it’s as much of a win for merchants as it is for consumers. To test this out, I took one of my outlets and did a Groupon for it, and then did a deal through rival site LivingSocial. Let me tell you right now: It was night and day. Working with one company was a great experience. With the other, it was a mess.
  • Entrepreneur Romil Patel • Introing a piece he wrote comparing the two most-popular deals services from a businessperson’s perspective. To put it simply, one had kinda-rough customer service and deals that confused consumers. The other was a pleasure to work with. Can you figure out which one he liked better? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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