Groupon Seeks Valuation at $12 Billion

The Daily Deal Site, Groupon, is seeking to sell shares in an offering that would value the company at close to $12 billion, several people with knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.

Such a valuation, which is being weighed as the company prepares for an investor road show next week to pitch its initial public offering, would be a steep comedown from earlier expectations that an I.P.O. of the Internet darling could value the company as much as $25 billion to $30 billion.

But shaky stock markets in recent months have prompted the company’s bankers to revise their calculations. Enthusiasm for Groupon has also been tempered amid sharp questions over its business model and accounting.

The stock offering, likely to take place next month, is expected to be less than 10 percent of the valuation and could be as small as $500 million, the people with knowledge of the situation said. The valuation is estimated to be more than $10 billion and will be significantly higher if markets improve.

Source: NYTimes