According to those close to the matter, Google is looking to make a deal on Groupon. We first caught wind of this potential acquisition about 10 days ago. Now, the rumor is that Google is offering Groupon around $5.3 billion with a $700 million earn out. These sources say the deal is more than likely going to succeed and could be complete within a week, possibly even tomorrow.
This could be Google’s biggest acquisition to date. It’s not as if Google can’t afford it, sitting on “more than $33 billion in cash and strong stock.” The deal isn’t just about Google owning a successful local commerce service which dominates the social shopping scene, but about the data they would gain in the acquisition. It always boils down to the data, doesn’t it?
But, if done, it will move the search giant instantly to the top spot in local commerce online and give it huge troves of data about consumer buying habits and merchant information across the globe.
The deal could definitely benefit both sides, especially with Facebook launching their own deals platform.
via All Things D