Groupon Inc. is in talks to sell shares in an initial public offering that would value the company at about $12 billion, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The world’s largest daily-coupon site is considering an offering of less than 10 percent of the valuation, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. The Chicago-based company plans to start marketing its IPO to investors as early as next week, people with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
Groupon delayed earlier plans to pitch the offering to investors in September amid stock-market swings, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The company also needed extra time to address regulators’ questions, including possible revisions to a controversial accounting method used in its filing, the people said.
Groupon said in a June filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it is seeking as much as $750 million in its IPO.
When the company met with underwriters earlier this year, it discussed a valuation of as high as $25 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said at the time.
Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) are leading Groupon’s offering.
The New York Times reported earlier that Groupon was weighing a valuation of about $12 billion.
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