Groupon delays IPO, waits out market turmoil
"Groupon has put its IPO on hold for at least a few weeks, hoping to ride out global market turmoil while dealing with regulatory questions surrounding its highly anticipated public float, two sources with knowledge of the deal said.
The daily deal company, which had intended to launch into the final phase of its initial public offering in mid- to late September, joins Zynga and other would-be market debutantes that have postponed flotations as the dismal outlook for developed economies hammers stock markets.
Since Groupon filed for a $750 million IPO in June, some on Wall Street have also questioned Groupon's financial disclosures, including its use of a metric that excludes marketing and other expenses from profit calculations. Others fear the company's growth is slowing in North America.
To hit an unofficial deadline to debut this month, the company would have had to launch a roadshow to attract potential investors this week or next.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Tuesday that Groupon had scheduled a roadshow for next week but has called that off now.
The company is not canceling its IPO, but is reassessing the timing of an offering on a week-by-week basis, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the IPO process is not public."