Groupon Seeks IPO Soon

By Robert Davis
Jan 14 2011

Groupon, the largest online daily deals site, announced today that they have completed their $950 million financing push and they will now seek an IPO in 2011.

According to the recent financial statements released by the company they have a total value of $15 billion. However, that does not include the $950 million they raised from private investors to use for new technological advances as well company acquisitions over the next year.

However, some experts are wondering why Groupon would be seeking an IPO after such an aggressive round of private financing. They have said that the company is obviously not hurting for cash at this point.

But there may be some intelligence to the idea. According to several analysts that have studied the Groupon company format, they would be well served with an IPO as they would then have a larger market share that would keep their competitors at bay for the time being.

While there was a time when Groupon was the only game in town, the new market shows that there are dozens of other companies out there using the same formula for business. The local advertising deals market is becoming crowded and Groupon needs to set themselves apart.

Groupon leaders said it would likely be closer to the end of 2011 before the IPO was ready to launch. They have already filed all necessary paperwork with the SEC and other government agencies and they will need only have their exact financials in order.