Groupon makes plans to to go public, again

Groupon makes plans to to go public, again
The company previously said it expected to raise 750 million dollars by starting to sell public shares.
Groupon makes plans to to go public, again
The company previously said it expected to raise 750 million dollars by starting to sell public shares.

Groupon makes plans to to go public, again

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Chicago-based company Groupon, Inc. is back on the path to going public. The New York Times reports the company will file for an I.P.O. by the end of October or early November.

Rick Summer, an analyst with Morningstar who follows the daily deals website, called Groupon a company that is “trying to make their own rules” through an unorthodox approach.

“There are so many risks, still, around just the daily deals space in general, but also in particular around Groupon,” said Summer. “What does the business model look like? How do you end up pricing it? Is this even a viable business long-term? Those are questions that really haven’t been answered in advance of the offering.”

Summer said he’s not surprised by Groupon’s decision to postpone going public; the volatile market has made it difficult for other companies to do the same.

“Facebook could have easily gone public this year…and by all accounts it seems they’re a profitable business, but they continue to delay until they reach different levels of maturity and different milestones” explained Summer. “So it’s a very interesting contrast with what Groupon is doing, which is an unproven business that is rushing as quickly as they can to go public, versus Facebook, which is attempting to really mature the business, and really have a clear view of what the business is before they actually go public.”

A representative from the company did not return calls for comment.