Rapidly growing online coupon seller Groupon Inc. is offering its most tantalizing deal yet — an initial public offering of stock likely to intensify a debate about whether an investment bubble is forming around promising but still unproven Internet companies.
Groupon took the first step toward selling its stock on Wall Street by filing its IPO papers Wednesday. The filing comes just two weeks after LinkedIn Corp., a popular Internet service for professional networking service, saw its shares double in the first day.
The initial price of Groupon’s shares won’t be set until the company gets closer to going public. That process typically takes three to four months.
But the shares won’t be cheap, based on the confidence that Groupon showed last year when it rejected a $6 billion takeover offer from Internet search leader Google Inc. Groupon hopes to raise at least $750 million in the IPO.
McClatchy news service
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
