Groupon walks away from Google takeover talks - report

By Stacy Cowley, tech editor


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After weeks of negotiations about a potential takeover, Groupon appears to have walked away from would-be suitor Google.

Groupon turned down a Google bid rumored to be between $5 billion and $6 billion, according to multiple news reports citing sources close to the talks. The news of the breakup was first reported by the Chicago Tribune's Breaking Business blog, which has tracked Chicago-based Groupon's meteoric rise since the company was founded in 2008.

The daily-deals site is among the fastest-growing companies in history. Run by 30-year-old founder and CEO Andrew Mason (#25 on this year's edition of Fortune's "40 under 40" list), Groupon has 35 million subscribers; 3,000 employees; and operates in more than 300 cities around the world.

The site has sold more than 18 million coupons for local merchants since its launch, and is reportedly turning a profit on sales that press reports put as high as $2 billion a year.

In just 17 months, Groupon's valuation by investors had already topped $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine, which called that a growth record.

Groupon pioneered a model that marries together local advertising and social networking -- and its success launched a legion of imitators. The most successful of them, LivingSocial, landed a $175 million investment Thursday from Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500).

Amid intense speculation about his company's fate, Groupon founder Mason has adopted an irreverent tone.

Two months ago he quipped to CNNMoney that he would rather be bought by a company like Exxon or McDonald's than a tech stalwart like Google -- "someone totally weird," he joked.

Earlier this week, he told the New York Times that he wouldn't comment on the Google talks but would be happy to discuss his other passion, "building miniature dollhouses."

Losing Groupon would be a blow for Google, which tried last year to acquire local reviews site Yelp for a price tag believed to be around $500 million. The company has recently ramped up its focus on the local market, moving longtime user-experience head Marissa Mayer to a new role as chief of its local and location services business. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.