Groupon IPO on hold as SEC questions remain

SAN FRANCISCO: Groupon is going to wait at least a couple of weeks before launching the final phase of its initial public offering because regulators still have questions for the daily deals website and the stock market is too volatile, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

Groupon had been planning to go public in mid to late September. To hit that unofficial deadline, the company would have had to launch a roadshow to attract potential investors this week or next week.

A Groupon spokesman declined to comment.

Groupon filed for a $750 million IPO in June, when the stock market was higher and less volatile than it is now. In such an environment, it would be difficult being the first IPO to hit the market after Labor Day, the person said. 

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Some on Wall Street have questioned Groupon's financial disclosures, while others are concerned the company's rapid growth is starting to slow in North America.

Groupon chief executive Andrew Mason sent a memo to employees recently that was widely reported in the media, in which he blasted critics in the press and on Wall Street.

The company has received questions from the SEC about the memo, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Regulations limit what companies can say ahead of a planned IPO.

The newspaper also said Groupon had scheduled a roadshow for next week, but has called that off now. The company is not canceling its IPO, but it's reassessing the timing of an offering on a week-by-week basis, the newspaper added, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.