They can probably find a better deal anyway.

• Google allegedly offered $6 billion for the popular online coupon company – the most expensive acquisition in Google history. The initial offer was between $3.5 – 4 billion.
• Online coupons have never been more popular, and Google was eager to get a piece of the action. They think that advertising locally is about to become really, really big.
• Groupon is currently owned by a private group of investors, but it may go for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2011.

Facts & Figures

• Over 33 million people subscribe to Groupon’s daily emails
• Google is currently sitting on $33 billion in cash and other assets
• Groupon made $500 million in sales this year – it’s growing at a faster rate than Google or Amazon did

Tags: acquisition, advertising, google, groupon, internet, IPO, merger