Online coupon site Groupon has rejected Google’s offer, which was rumored to be worth up to $6 billion, plus performance incentives.
Groupon could rake in as much as $2 billion in revenue this year, though ClickZ previously reported Groupon was pulling in $50 million in revenue per month. Groupon makes its money by taking a cut of the daily deals offered on the site.
Groupon Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason, who started the company in 2008, was concerned being owned by Google would “sap employee morale and alienate business clients.”
No doubt, Google saw Groupon’s relationships with local small- and medium-sized businesses as a big incentive for the acquisition. Groupon also boasts 33 million subscribers in 35 countries.
A Google spokesman declined to comment on “rumor or speculation” about what would have been Google’s largest purchase. Negotiations, which began in November, included CEO Eric Schmidt, founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and M&A chief David Lawee.
Time will tell if Groupon will see a Facebook type of success, or if the daily deals bubble is about to burst.