Groupon is planning to divest some or most of its Breadcrumb business unit, which designs checkout software for restaurant and bars available on iPads, claims a report from Re/code citing various sources. According to the report, the executives are presently in internal discussion, and have supposedly offered the business unit to a competitor during a recent meeting.
Breadcrumb founder aiming a standalone business
Back in 2012, Groupon took over Breadcrumb to enable Groupon merchants run their business with greater efficiency, along with making it easier to redeem Groupon vouchers.
Citing knowledgeable sources, the report says that Groupon executives informally mentioned the plan of selling off some or all of the business to competitor Square, but there was no clear information, and idea never materialized with two sides not entering into any formal deal talks.
On being asked by Re/code, a Groupon spokesperson declined comment at this stage, but said that in line with the previous discussion, the company strives to find the best ways to locate and grow assets along with unlocking value for shareholders.
Founder Seth Harris is still with Groupon, and recently told the industry executives that he is looking to raise money from venture capitalists to detach Breadcrumb from Groupon into a standalone business, says the report. However, it cannot be confirmed if he has reached out to any investor yet or if Groupon will accept this decision.
Groupon to sell Ticket Monster
Additionally, the company is also looking to sell off some or all of its Korean business, Ticket Monster, owing to competitive headwinds in the region. Ticket Monster was acquired by Groupon from competitor LivingSocial for $260 million in early 2014.
Presently, Groupon is paying more attention to improving its website as a shopping destination offering deals on local services and products instead of relying on one-off email promotions. Groupon is currently involved in a massive turnaround, putting pressure on the margins and profitability. However, the revenue of the company is holding steady.
In pre-market trading Wednesday, Groupon shares were up 0.56% at $7.15, while year to date, the stock is down almost 13%.
