Groupon poised for a $15 billiion IPO

Social commerce juggernaut Groupon is forging ahead with plans for an initial public that could value the startup at $15 billion or more. Citing anonymous sources with knowledge of Groupon's plans, The New York Times reports the firm is presently in talks with bankers, with an eye on going public in spring 2011--many of the bankers pitching Groupon project the valuation to top the $15 billion mark, sources add.

Late last year, Groupon rejected a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)--this week, it raised a staggering $950 million from investors, the largest venture financing round ever for a startup. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, Technology Crossover Ventures and Russian firm DST. Groupon did not specify its plans for the funding, stating it will support efforts to "fuel global expansion, invest in technology, and provide liquidity for employees and early investors."

Each day, Groupon presents bargains from retailers and restaurants spanning across more than 500 international markets; the offer is good only if a predetermined number of consumers take advantage within a 24-hour period--if the user minimum is met, everyone who signed up is charged for their purchase and mailed a link to redeem their Groupon, and if not, the deal is canceled. The startup encourages bargains that promote social interaction among users, like dining opportunities and spa treatments. According to Groupon, the service has saved shoppers more than $1.5 billion since launching in late 2008, working with 58,000 local businesses and serving over 100,000 deals worldwide.

Groupon introduced an application optimized for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch in March 2010, enabling consumers to purchase, redeem and organize deals on the go. In addition, users can log in via Facebook Connect and map local Groupons in real time via their smartphone's GPS feature. In December, Groupon partnered with location-based mobile media firm JiWire to roll out hyper-local offers targeting consumers based on their present whereabouts. The JiWire platform enables advertisers to identify and deliver ads to audience segments based on a consumer's physical location, taking into account contextual influences like the venue type and brand--by leveraging Groupon's API, JiWire now can sort through deals available near any given device on its ad network and serve up targeted promotions determined by the user's locale and time of day.

For more:
- read this New York Times article

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