Groupon turned down a monster offer from Google to buy the company out, choosing instead to go it alone
That’s right, Google offered Groupon a reported $5 to $6 billion as part of an acquisition offer, but Groupon turned them down and has decided to go it alone. They have been working on a deal for weeks, yet in the end, the deal wasn’t enough for Groupon.
Groupon is a 2 year old, group buying site that allows you to buy from local companies at a discount. They are in many cities nationwide and have also branched out to several other countries and continue to grow rapidly.
Had the deal gone through, it would have been the biggest acquisition ever for Google. Double Click in 2007 was a $3.1 billion purchase and YouTube, back in 2006 was $1.65 billion.
According to a Chicago Tribune report, Groupon thinks they are better off if they go it alone and continue to focus on growing it’s business, which pulls in about $2 billion in revenue a year.
Groupon is not the first company to turn down a multi-billion dollar offer. Facebook turned down offers from Microsoft and Yahoo, and have never regretted the decision.
Groupon, based in Chicago, says it hopes to expand it’s Chicago team. They received $3.5 million earlier this year from the state of Illinois as an incentive to create more jobs.
