From Bloomberg News | Groupon Inc., which last month rejected a $6 billion takeover offer from Google Inc., isn’t convinced it will sell shares in an initial public offering anytime soon, said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason. Get the full story>>
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Goldman’s Blankfein pitches for Groupon’s IPO
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein went to Chicago to pitch Groupon executives on hiring his bank to underwrite the online coupon company’s initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The report was attributed to a single unnamed source. Get the full story »
Groupon CEO apologizes to Japanese customers
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason in a video to Japanaese customers. (YouTube)
The chief executive of Groupon, the rapidly growing online coupon provider, apologized to Japanese customers Monday for a New Year’s deal gone wrong that highlighted the difficulties the company faces in managing its global expansion.
In a subtitled video message uploaded onto YouTube, the company’s founder and CEO Andrew Mason acknowledged that the company had “really messed up” and outlined steps it was taking to rebuild its tarnished image in Japan. Get the full story »
VillageVines grabs $3M in venture capital
New York-based startup VillageVines has raised a first round of funding from Hearst Interactive Media, GrandBanks Capital and High Peaks Venture Partners for its exclusive restaurant site. Get the full story »
Groupon ads in U.K. banned for being misleading
From AdAge | Chicago-based daily deal site Groupon saw three of its online ads banned in the U.K. after the Advertising Standards Authority, an industry-established group there, claimed they were misleading to consumers.
Sources: Groupon rejects Google’s offer; will stay independent
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason speaks at the company's headquarters on Aug. 31, 2010. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
By Melissa Harris and Wailin Wong
The deal didn’t tip after all.
Chicago-based Groupon Inc. has turned down an acquisition offer from Google Inc. and is staying independent, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said Friday.
The two companies had been engaged in talks, with speculation about the marriage reaching a fever pitch over the last week. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google reportedly had offered between $5 billion and $6 billion for the daily deal start-up. Get the full story »
Yahoo to aggregate online deals, including Groupon
Yahoo! is jumping into the online deals space with a new program called Local Offers that aggregates deals from a number of companies, including Chicago-based Groupon.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said it wants to be “the largest and most comprehensive repositories of local offers on the Internet.” With the explosion of daily deal sites following Groupon’s success, a number of deal aggregator start-ups have also emerged. Yahoo! is aiming for an even broader scope by signing up companies specializing in direct mail marketing, such as Valpak. Get the full story »
Yahoo rumored to be circling Groupon
From Business Insider | A source “close to Groupon investors” says that Yahoo is reportedly in sales talks with online daily deals site Groupon.
Groupon rival VillageVines moves into Chicago
A New York-based Web start-up specializing in restaurant discounts and reservations is expanding into Chicago, hoping to give restaurateurs and diners an alternative to daily deal sites such as Groupon.
VillageVines officially launches in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. on Sept. 15. In the meantime, Chicagoans can sign up for the site starting today. When the site goes live, members will be able to log in and book a reservation through an online calendar that lists available restaurants and dates. VillageVines charges $10 per reservation and typically offers 30 percent off the check. Get the full story »
