Groupon will raise $ 700 million for its IPO

The group buying site Groupon announced Thursday, Nov. 3, he plans to raise $ 700 million (507 million) for its IPO. The company does not 30 but 35 million shares at a price of 20 dollars (14.5 euros), exceeding the range of from 16 to 18 dollars (11.6 and 13 euros) announced last month. The transaction values ​​the company at 12.66 billion dollars (9.17 billion euros). However, it is half the estimates were still advanced last summer.

For the financial company Renaissance Capital, which specializes in IPOs, "given that the actions offered for sale only 5% of the capitalization, the action could rise in early trade (on Friday on the Nasdaq), with a momentum of supply and demand. "

The IPO of Groupon is one of the most anticipated in the area of ​​high-tech U.S., pending the publisher of games Zynga, whose value is estimated around $ 14 billion (10.1 billion) but is already qualified, and especially Facebook, which has not yet filed a case. Groupon had refused a year ago to be acquired by Google for $ 6 billion (4.3 billion).

Groupon site, with 142.9 million subscribers in 145 countries, with nearly 79,000 merchants using its services, working with more than 10,000 employees. Their role is to contact dealers and users to offer promotions on certain goods or services, provided only a minimum number of consumers to subscribe.

UNCERTAINTIES OF ECONOMIC MODEL

Despite this fundraiser, the website, launched in November 2008 in Chicago, leaving uncertainty about its business model. Groupon is still a net loss of $ 308 million (223 million) for the first nine months of the year, against $ 77.7 million (56.3 million) during the same period 2010. The site also boasts a turnover of 1.1 billion dollars (797 million) in the first nine months of the year, against $ 140.7 million (102 million) there is a year.

But Renaissance Capital noted a slowdown in the expansion: "The turnover of the third quarter to $ 430 million, only a 10% increase over the previous quarter, against a sequential growth of 33% in the second quarter, "the company noted in a footnote. The trading patterns of customers also raise doubts. In the third quarter, the average purchase per customer declined by 15%, to 3.30 dollars (2.40 euros).

The group purchasing industry is increasingly competitive. LivingSocial, backed by Amazon, had also come into stock. Currently present in 21 countries, the company has 38 million subscribers worldwide and more than 2000 employees. Google is also positioned in this market with its service "Offers", first experienced in some U.S. cities. Facebook, for his part renounced purchasing. Competition also comes from Asia. Chinese Lashou last week filed a request for IPO to the tune of $ 100 million (73 million).