According to multiple sources close to the situation, Google is in discussions with local deals powerhouse Groupon about buying it.
Without making the requisite joke about the deal of the day, sources said the price being considered is certainly no discount–well above the $2 billion to $3 billion that Yahoo offered Groupon in acquisition talks that took place earlier this year.
But sources cautioned that the talks are not complete, and could also end up without any result, as the Yahoo discussions did.
So yes it is a rumor but a pretty compelling one. Not to be left out, Henry Blodget feels that Google needs to spend some of that mountain of cash they have in Mountain View.
Google is in talks to buy Groupon for more than $3 billion, Kara Swisher reports.
Good.
Google offered $2.5-$4 billion to buy Twitter a few months ago, Nicholas Carlson reports.
Also good.
Google’s Marissa Mayer is obsessed with Foursquare and is probably considering buying it.
Also good.
Google should buy all these leading companies–and more.
Here’s why:
Google has cash coming out of its ears, and the cash is currently doing the company no good whatsoever.
Pretty straightforward, huh? Whether or not any of this comes to fruition, it is starting to look more and more like Google may have had enough of developing Wave after Wave (pun obviously intended) of failed social / collaboration / whatever it is they were trying to do offerings.
Google needs to be in the social space. They need to maintain the relevancy of search as we know it or at least gracefully evolve moving forward. These things take some nuance and some more than just whiz bang engineering. It takes a soul, which Google sometimes seems to lack because it comes off as very robotic and almost stuffy at times.
I think it would be great if they bought a big name in the social space. It would give us all something to blabber about for a few days. What would be more interesting is what that purchase looks a year from the time it is bought. You can buy a small niche player like they often do and let it assimilate into the Goog without much trouble. Most people didn’t know that the companies they purchase even existed anyway.
But take a high flyer with a growing brand like Groupon or fourssquare and then see if they smother it like Lennie did to critters in “Of Mice and Men” or if they let it grow and then figure out how to integrate rather than assimilate it into the existing Google ecosystem.
All in all, it would be interesting to see Google try to buy its way into the social world. I think it’s the only way they can succeed because being social isn’t the strong suit of most engineers.
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