$35 for dinner out on the town. $50 for a spa dermabrasion session.
We’ve all seen the Groupon ads and likely most of us are subscribed to these daily deals. I’ve even downloaded the Groupon app to my Android phone, which can be a bit of a content overload.
Now, according to the New York Times, Groupon’s latest deal offers investors a share in the company for $20 a unit. The internet-based company is initially selling just 35 million shares, offering roughly 5 percent of its total.
“On Thursday morning, whispers of zealous demand snaked through Wall Street, with orders well over 10 times the amount of the shares offered, according to two people with knowledge of the offering who requested anonymity because the matter was confidential. As investors clamored for shares, Groupon, at the end of the day, priced its initial public offering at $20, above the expected range of $16 to $18. The stock sale, which raised $700 million, values the company at $12.65 billion.”
That’s billion with a B.
Groupon founder and chief executive, Andrew Mason, told 300 investors the company is working in a market measured not in billions but trillions of dollars.
Launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto. As of October 2010, the company serves more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and has amassed 35 million registered users.
The company owns numerous international operations, all of which were originally deal-of-the-day services similar to it, but most of which were subsequently re-branded under the Groupon name after acquisition.
And they’re only getting started.
the right fIT. 