Exclusive: Groupon’s IPO Road Show Set for Next Week
Kara Swisher
All Things D
October 18, 2011 at 2:37 pm PT
According to multiple sources close to the situation, Groupon plans to conduct its road show for investors next week, starting either on Monday or Tuesday.
While the decision to move forward could still change, it comes amid continued criticism of the Chicago-based daily deals company, which has had one of the rougher IPO processes for an Internet company in recent memory.
Just yesterday, the New York Times took aim at Groupon and its Wall Street bankers, retreading over the same list of issues, including controversial accounting, a too-large payout to its founders and issues around its marketing costs.
In addition, the social buying service has had some management turnover, with two COOs departing.
Lastly, it has amended its S-1 filing several times, for a variety of reasons, including an email to employees by its CEO Andrew Mason that struck regulatory agencies as a bit blabby.
That said, the initiation of the road show — where company execs will pitch its business to possible shareholders — might be an indication that its results have improved in its recent quarter.
In the last quarter, the company lost $102.7 million on revenue of $878 million.
Also of concern is the stock market itself. Groupon, like several Web IPO candidates, had delayed its offering due to turbulent conditions.
Now, sources said the company will go public on the Nasdaq exchange soon after the road show is complete and after pricing by its bankers.
That valuation will also be under scrutiny. Some had previously estimated that Groupon would have an IPO of up to $25 billion. Now, it could be half that, source said.
Well, now we will presumably see, as Groupon plans to proceed.
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