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 »