The share price of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) has surged to almost double its figure before a record low in the middle of November last year. The market capitalization of the company is marching towards the $3.5 billion mark.
The company has witnessed tsunami type tides in its share prices, the 53 week high of $25.84 and a 52 week low of $2.63. The daily deal business forerunner lost 90 percent of its market capitalization as the growth projections of the company slowed down, and company directed its focus towards new products and profitability.
The company’s total valuation has two important point of reference to be measured against: its opening market value at the date of its public offering, and the rejected Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) offering, which totaled more than $5 billion, including an earn-out. On both fronts, Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) has turned out to be a big loser, losing billions in investor capital at the time of its decline.
In the middle of November, when the Groupon shares made their record low, after 6 days of Tiger Global’s announcement that it has acquired a 9.9 percent stake in the company. Tiger Global seems to have made an outstanding profit on the Groupon stocks. At the time, Groupon was worth a mere $2 billion or so – following a dramatic rise in its stock after the announcement, making Tiger’s stake worth roughly $200 million.
The valuation of Groupon is about $3.4 billion today. According to this valuation the stake of Tiger surges to $344 million or impressive $144 million paper profit, in approximately 52 days.
Andrew Mason, the founder of the Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) and long-time CEO will hold his position in the company as of now, according to the decision of Groupon. Stock price declined following this decision. The company has promised a profit for the just ended quarter. It will be worth watching if the investors will be impressed.
Eric Lefkofsky, the executive chairman and largest shareholder, approached an external advisor to discuss the replacement of Mason as CEO, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Lefkofsky along with his business partner, Brad Keywell, and Mason, control stock with extra voting power as a part of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)’s governance structure. If Lefkofsky and Keywell did want to expel Mason, it would be hard to stop them. There was no response from Lefkofsky and Mason about the news.
Groupon’s shares closed yesterday at $5.19.