Yahoo! Circling Groupon: Report
NEW YORK (
) --
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
is reportedly in sales talks with online daily deals site
Groupon
, according to a new report from
Business Insider
. The deal could be worth as much as $3 billion to $4 billion, the report said, citing "a source close to Groupon investors."
Groupon is evaluating its strategic options, including an IPO or an acquisition, according to a separate source. Besides Yahoo!, potential acquirers could include
Amazon
(AMZN) - Get Report
,
eBay
(EBAY) - Get Report
and
(GOOG) - Get Report
Carol Bartz, president and CEO of Yahoo! |
Groupon, based in Chicago, sends daily coupons to users in more than 300 cities for local business services like spas and restaurants. The company's popularity has spawned dozens of rivals including
LivingSocial
and
BloomSpot
.
The company is working on raising money at a $3 billion valuation,
Bloomberg News
reported Tuesday. It has already raised $173 million from investors including Digital Sky Technologies, Accel Partners, Battery Ventures and New Enterprise Associates.
Yahoo! could be looking at acquisitions like Groupon to "refresh and reinvigorate itself," said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners. The company purchased ad startup
Dapper
for an estimated $55 million last month, as well as publishing platform
Associated Content
in May for around $100 million.
During a recent Yahoo! earnings call, CEO Carol Bartz called 2010 "a year of acquisitions and investments to make Yahoo even stronger."
However, Yahoo! itself has been pegged recently as a potential takeover for private equity group
KKR
and is reportedly being eyed by Chinese Internet giant
Alibaba
.
Yahoo! was also rumored to be considering
.
--Written by Olivia Oran in New York.
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