Groupon Attracted $1 Billion By IPO

The American Internet company Groupon providing services in the field of online retailers, has completed the process of raising funds through private placements of shares in the amount of 950 million dollars to raise funds and repurchase shares from a number of former investors and to continue business expansion of Groupon outside the U.S. 


New investors are private individuals and various companies, including the Russian Mail.ru Group. Financial advisor for placement was the company Allen & Company LLC. 

IPO of Groupon

The company Groupon (offering through the internet coupons for discounts at restaurants, shops and services of local companies) plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange before the end of 2011, reports The New York Times citing informed sources. 

According to the publication, a successful startup is now increasing capitalization, extends the list of investors and rejects proposals from larger companies. Groupon is simultaneously negotiating with financial advisers, preparing for public listing of its shares in 2011.
Groupon plans to sell shares at 31.59 dollars per share, which allows to evaluate a company in the amount of from 6,4 to 7,8 billion dollars, depending on the number of outstanding shares, according to research firm VC Expert, specializing in the evaluation of private companies. 


Annual revenue of Groupon is according to various estimates from $500 million to $ 2 billion. According to the head of Groupon Russia Elena Masolova profitability of this service in Russia is already several hundred thousand dollars.
Experts call Groupon one of the most successful and fastest-growing Internet startups. Among its investors there is the fund DST Global, whose president is the head of the company Mail.Ru Group Yuri Milner. The Fund owns 5,1% of Groupon. 


Groupon may cause excitement on the Stock Exchange. "Investors are considering  this  company to be a business, which in future will cost much more," - he said.

Mail.ru Group's IPO Is Over $1 Billion

Russian internet company Mail.ru Group and its shareholders gained from the sale of its shares during IPO more than $ 1 billion. To overcome psychologically important level helped the organizers of IPO - Morgan Stanley and VTB Capital, which implemented the option of redistribution and additionally purchased 3,290,000 ordinary shares of Mail.ru Group for $92 million. 


Thanks to the exercise of the option the total proceeds from the placement of shares and global depositary receipts (GDR) amounted to $1.003 billion when the share of free float (free float) of Mail.ru Group has reached 18,4%, said the Internet holding. 


During the IPO Mail.ru sold 36.22 million GDR (each receipt represents 1 ordinary shares) at a price of 27.7 dollars, that is on top of the range. Company's market capitalization amounted to 5.7 billion dollars, making Mail.ru Group  the largest traded Internet company in Europe. 


Earlier Mail.ru Group reported that funds from the IPO will be partly directed to purchase additional 7.5% of the capital social network Facebook for 112.5 million dollars. As a result, the share of Mail.ru in the social network Facebook will increase to 32.49%. Moreover, the company also secured an option to buy a similar package (7.5%) over the next year. Thus, at confluence of certain circumstances in 2011 Mail.ru Group's share in the network Facebook will be communicated to 39.99%. 


The company Mail.ru Group belongs to Yuri Milner, Gregory Finger and Alisher Usmanov. Previously, the company called Digital Sky Technologies (DST), but the pre-IPO, it was renamed. Between 2005 and 2009 the company (then known as the DST) has attracted and invested over $ 1 billion in more than 30 companies. 


Mail.ru Group owns the eponymous post and entertainment portals, instant messaging services ICQ, a social network Odnoklassniki.ru. The company also owns stakes in a social network Facebook, payment system Qiwi, a discount service Groupon and producer of games for social networks Zynga.