groupon is a company not even a few years old and already in the spotlight to be worth as much as $6 Billion dollars. Seems like anyone today can come up with an idea throw it on the web and start raking in the profits, amazing how a company worth maybe a few hundred thousand in the first weeks of launching has already turned down a bid by yahoo worth an estimated $2 billion to search for a deal worth 3X as more. google looks like it wants in and would be willing according to rumors to buy this company for $6 billion dollars, talk about wanting in on the newest hyped craze. Google Is Said to Be Poised to Buy Groupon The New York Times | November 30, 2010 | 08:12 AM EST Google is near a deal to acquire Groupon, the pioneering online discounter, for as much as $6 billion, people with direct knowledge of the matter told DealBook on Monday. A deal, in the $5 billion to $6 billion range, could be struck as soon as this week, these people said, cautioning that the talks could still fall apart. At that price, Groupon â known for its daily discounts â would be one of Googleâs [ GOOG 565.751 -16.359 (-2.81%) ] largest acquisitions, dwarfing its $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, the display advertising giant, in 2007. The deal would also be Googleâs boldest foray in local business online advertising, a large and untapped market it has been trying to get into, most recently by promoting Marissa Mayer to oversee the local business and attempting to buy Yelp, the local review site, last year. A representative for Google declined to comment. Andrew Mason, Grouponâs chief executive, declined an earlier interview request, adding that he would talk âonly if you want to talk about my other passion, building miniature dollhouses.â Since its founding in 2008 by Mr. Mason, Groupon has been growing at a breakneck pace. The company, whose name is a combination of âgroupâ and âcoupon,â specializes in providing customers with discounts purchased in bulk. Subscribers receive notifications of one deal a day, tailored to their location and profile. The average Groupon deal offers 50 to 90 percent off retail goods and services, from restaurant certificates to skydiving lessons. It has grown beyond local merchants to encompass retailers like Gap, which offered a nationwide deal this summer. On the day of the Gap promotion, Groupon sold 440,000 units and generated $11 million in revenue. Grouponâs success has helped turn the company into a cash-generating machine, signing up more than 12 million registered users and reaping more than $350 million in estimated annual revenue. Over recent weeks, Groupon has been the subject of scores of takeover rumors. Both Google and Yahoo [ YHOO 16.15 -0.23 (-1.40%) ] were among the interested parties, according to the people briefed on the matter, with Yahoo prepared to pay about $2 billion. But Grouponâs founders rejected that offer as too low. Grouponâs management was also concerned that Yahooâs business prospects might ultimately hurt the company, and that a stronger buyer like Google would give it a competitive edge against potential rivals like Facebook. As Yahooâs approach sputtered, Google made an initial bid of $3 billion to $4 billion, these people said. But in the face of Grouponâs resistance, Google raised its offer to $5 billion to $6 billion. The company is unlikely to offer more than that, according to one of the people with knowledge of the situation. Google is one of the few buyers in the technology market that can afford a price that high. According to the companyâs third-quarter report, as of Sept. 30, Google had $33.4 billion in cash or cash equivalents on hand. Grouponâs investors include Yuri Milnerâs Digital Sky Technologies, Battery Ventures, Accel Partners and New Enterprise Associates.
We haven't had a stock market "bubble" for 10 years ago (if you don't count 2002-2007, I suppose)... time for another go at it? Can the Fed do anything other than be "serial bubble blower"? And this is somehow supposed to be good for us?