Rumor of Google acquiring “group buying site,” Groupon, spread all over Internet but no body could confirm it. The latest news came from Vator News, who had been tipped by an insider about the acquisition. Vator News said that Google acquired the social shopping site for $2.5 billion.
On the other hand, New York Times reported that Google is about to close the deal with Groupon for an amount ranging from $5 billion to $6billion.
Neither Google nor Groupon talked about the deal but this is going to be the biggest acquisition in Google’s history. It would be also the company’s biggest foray into local business online advertisement.
The name “Groupon” derives from “Group” and “Coupon.” It offers various location-based shopping deals. Subscribers then pass the deal via email and social networking sites. New York Times says:
Subscribers receive a deal each day, tailored to the users’ location and profile. Although Groupon will offer smaller side deals, the objective is to highlight one discount for each user. A typical deal is 50 to 90 percent off retail goods and services, like restaurant certificates, sky diving lessons and spa services.
Established in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Groupon has become one of the fastest growing companies on Internet with a subscriber base of 12 million and an annual revenue of more than $350 million.
Such large scale acquisition also reveals Google’s desperate attempt to overpower Facebook, the new Internet juggernaut. Recent news reports said that Facebook took over 25 percent of all the pageviews in the U.S. topping Google, Youtube and Yahoo in the week ending on November 13, 2010. No wonder, Google would try every possible way to counter Facebook’s rise and protect its business turf.
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