Groupon rival LivingSocial is getting ready to announce a massive $200m funding round that will value the startup at more than $5bn, according to a news report. The New York Times reports that the deal is expected to close next week, and will include both old and new investors. In December 2010, Amazon.com invested $175 million in LivingSocial, an investment that came as Google was considering buying Groupon.
23/11/2011
Since then, Amazon has unveiled its own daily deal service called AmazonLocal.
Spurned by Groupon, Google also has come out with its own service, known as Google Offers.
LivingSocial had discussed the possibility of going public earlier this year, talking to bankers about a deal that would value it at roughly $10 billion to $15 billion in the public markets.
In the latest funding round, The Times’ reports that insiders at LivingSocial will not sell shares.