Groupon (NASDAQ:
GRPN
) is up more than 11 percent this morning after Tiger Global
Management, LLC announced that it had acquired a 9.9 percent
stake in the company. The hedge fund purchased 65 million shares
in Groupon. At yesterday's close of $3.11, that stake was valued
at $201.8 million.
Tiger Global's investment comes at a difficult time for
Groupon. As recent as 2011, many investors thought that daily
deals were the next big thing. Groupon appeared to be leading the
charge, with many sure to follow.
That has not been the case, however. LivingSocial and other
daily deals sites have begun to fizzle. Groupon remains a strong
company with millions of members, but with
numerous
complaints from critics and
angry merchants
, some clients may be unwilling to return.
Groupon's decline in sales represents an even greater
challenge. Company shares
plunged to a new all-time low
after Groupon reported its third-quarter results. Over the last
three months alone, shares of the daily deals giant have declined
by more than 30 percent.
Since November 2011, Groupon has lost more than 88 percent of
its value. But in the last five days, the company began to turn
itself around, rising more than 16 percent.
In September, Groupon announced that it had
completed its acquisition
of Savored, a reservations site for restaurants. The company also
earned a little praise from Morgan Stanley after it launched a
new payment solution for its merchants.
Groupon took a cue from Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) and other large corporations and decided to open its own
concept store
in Hong Kong. The company gave away one iPhone 5 to the first 10
customers that successfully answered a series of mystery
questions. It is not yet known if Groupon will bring its retail
outlet to America.
On November 14 Groupon
appointed
Kal Raman -- a 20-year veteran in technology and retail
businesses -- as its new Chief Operating Officer.
"In a very short time, Kal has had a significant impact on
increasing the number and quality of local businesses using the
Groupon platform to the benefit of Groupon customers around the
world," Groupon CEO Andrew Mason said in a
company release
. "We are already seeing progress in Europe and Kal will be
instrumental in leading our company as we deploy tools and
technologies that will help us continue to grow both Groupon and
the categories in which we operate."
Groupon also announced its first-ever
holiday
and
toy
wish books with
free returns and free shipping
.
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