Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief executive Lloyd Blankfein visited the Chicago headquarters of Groupon Inc. on Friday to pitch executives on hiring his firm for a possible share sale this year, a person familiar with the matter said.
Morgan Stanley also is in talks with Groupon to arrange an initial public offering, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
Blankfein’s visit reflects the rising interest in working with Groupon, a 2-year-old company that last month rebuffed a $6 billion takeover offer from Google Inc. and this week announced a round of funding said to value it at $4.75 billion. The startup now is considering an IPO that may value it at $15 billion, people familiar with the matter have said.
Spokesmen for Groupon, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all declined to comment.
Groupon said it will use some of the $950 million in funding announced this week to let employees and early investors sell shares. Private companies must keep the number of shareholders below 500, or they are subject to reporting requirements by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Groupon offers daily discounts from businesses such as restaurants, nail salons and clothing stores. It then keeps a portion of the revenue. The company may have generated more than $500 million in sales last year, people with knowledge of the finances said.
Groupon is among multibillion- dollar Internet startups that may hold IPOs in the next two years. The largest, Facebook Inc., held a recent funding round, raising $500 million from a group led by Goldman Sachs.
