Groupon and Google: Jungle Drums are beating …

Could it be that Groupon are finally to get into bed with Google? The newswire is definitely hot with speculation this afternoon that a deal might be close. There have certainly been talks – and as I write, it seems Groupon’s website is currently struggling to stay online amid the great interest in just what is going on!

Groupon, who value themselves at some $3bn, have already had failed talks with Yahoo! They certainly seem to be the hottest property on the block right now.

If the deal goes ahead – and last public words from Groupon say they could take until the end of the year to decide – Groupon could be Google’s most expensive purchase to date. Previous holder of that title was $3.2bn DoubleClick, the online advertising provider, which Google snapped up in 2008.

Groupon apparently earns in excess of $50m a month. A substantial fundraising round placed Groupon’s valuation at $1bn just back in April. The company sends daily messages to users in 300 markets across 29 countries, offering deep discounts on a wide range of products and services. Groupon keeps around half the income for every deal sold, while the vendors benefit mainly from gaining new customers.

The acquisition would be a very good fit for Google, as they aim to gain alternative advertising revenues, from sources other than Search related.