The New York Times is reporting that social commerce giant Groupon is moving forward with plans to take the company public.
According to the report, an initial public offering (IPO) could value the startup at $15 billion or better.
Few details of the suspected IPO are known, but The New York Times quotes anonymous sources claiming that Groupon is actively meeting and talking with major banks and other financial powerhouses about a potential spring 2011 IPO.
The company, which just raised a record $950 million from big investors, discussed a public offering with bankers this week, according to two people with knowledge of the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Groupon recently netted the nearly $1 billion in investments from such heavy-hitters as Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley.
If Groupon succeeds in its alleged plans, it will prove that the company was wise to sidestep a reported $6 acquisition offer made by Google just last year.
Last month it grew even more obvious that Groupon was “planning something big,” as the firm hired its first chief financial officer, Jason Child – a former VP of finance at Amazon.
According to The New York Times, Groupon’s staff – now 3,100 – “has expanded so quickly that the company, which is based in Chicago, had to relocate its meetings to a nearby church.”
