Is Rob Solomon’s Departure from Groupon Sign of Impending IPO?

There seemed to be some minor shake ups going on in the daily deals industry this past week, but it’s too early yet to determine exactly how all the rumblings will add up. Groupon announced that Rob Solomon was leaving his post as president and COO with the company to move back to California with his family. But it appears the reasons go much deeper than a home sick Solomon.

Solomon told the Wall Street Journal that he decided to step down after a consultation with Groupon CEO and founder, Andrew Mason, who by all indications looks to be taking the company public, possibly as soon as this year with a valuation of $25 billion.

Solomon told the Wall Street Journal:

“I agree with Andrew that we really need a much different type of operator to take it to the next level. What we did in that one year is equivalent to what happens in five years at the best Internet companies.”

So exactly who initially came up with the idea that Solomon was no longer fit for the leadership role, Mason or Solomon himself, is unclear but you have to wonder if it was Solomon, did Mason at least give him the obligatory “Please don’t leave Rob. I can’t do it without you.” speech before he quickly ushered him to the door?

Earlier this year we reported that Morgan Stanley could be the bank that would take Groupon public, considering they took part in the coupon king’s nearly $1 billion round of funding. Greg Sterling, analyst and founder of the research firm, Sterling Market Intelligence, suggested that it was smart for Groupon to strike while the iron was hot and the company was still on top.

That was several months ago and now with LivingSocial making substantial gains in the market and other competitors like Yipit trying to erode away at Groupon’s numbers, could it be that Groupon has decided that it is unwise to wait any longer? Could Rob Solomon be vacating his spot to make room for a team member from whatever company takes them public?

This is all speculation of course and Groupon’s possible IPO isn’t exactly news but we’re just saying big changes are in the wind and could they be coming much sooner than we may have anticipated?