It’s a discount Groupon’s fans would love: Groupon’s IPO, up to 50% off...
blogs.wsj.com
...After being talked about as a stock-market debutante potentially valued at $20 billion to $30 billion, Groupon now is discussing a valuation of less than $12.5 billion, our Deal Journal colleagues are reporting. ( DealBook had the news earlier.)
The scaled-back valuation, of course, is a consequence of the battered stock market and worries about Europe in recent months. “South Park” had Blame Canada. Groupon can Blame Greece.
If Groupon indeed pushes out as a public company at a valuation of $12.5 billion, the company’s founders may be slightly less rich, at least for now. Heck, CEO Andrew Mason won’t even be a billionaire, at least not yet.
Here is the breakdown:
Andrew Mason, the CEO and founder, holds about 7.6% of the company’s class A stock prior to the IPO, according to Groupon’s latest IPO filing. At a $12.5 billion valuation, those Class A shares would be worth roughly $950 million. At $20 billion, Mason could have been a paper billionaire, at a roughly $1.5 billion value for his stock.
Eric P. Lefkofsky: The serial entrepreneur is the company’s biggest shareholder, and previously he was Mason’s boss at a Chicago printing company called InnerWorkings. It was there that Lefkofksy asked Mason to dump graduate school and go into business together. His 21.3% stake in Groupon Class A stock could be worth roughly $2.66 billion, based on a $12.5 billion company valuation. Earlier this year, Forbes pegged Lefkofsky’s net worth at $1.6 billion.
Bradley A. Keywell: Another serial entrepreneur, Keywell was a University of Michigan buddy of Lefkofsky. His 6.8% Class A stake in Groupon could be worth $850 million. |
