Groupon has walked away from Google’s $6 billion takeover offer, according to a person close to Groupon. The rejection at least temporarily thwarts Google’s efforts to buy the social buying site, which would have been its largest acquisition to date.
According to several people with knowledge of the takeover talks but who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, Google was eager to purchase the fast-growing startup, based in Chicago, raising its bid at least once during negotiations.
Representatives for Google and Groupon declined to comment yesterday.
The rejection was first reported by The Chicago Tribune’s Breaking Business website.
Although two people briefed on the matter expected Groupon to ultimately approve the deal, the sides had to work through several sticking points. Groupon’s subscriber network has expanded to 35 million users in 300 markets. It is pulling in more than $1 billion in annual revenue. It is that high-octane growth that most likely delayed the deal. During discussions, estimates of Groupon’s revenue continued to rapidly climb, weakening the value of Google’s offer, according to a person with deep knowledge of the talks.
