Lloyd Blankfein Met With Groupon To Discuss IPO

Goldman Sachs GS CEO Lloyd Blankfein met with Groupon Inc. executives today to talk about having Goldman be the lead underwriter for the company's IPO later this year, according to Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley MS is also in discussions about being the lead underwriter for the IPO, said a source close to the situation. Julie Mossler, a spokeswoman for Groupon, and David Wells, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Pen Pendleton, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley, also declined to comment. Groupon is looking to going public this year, as a euphoria surrounds technology companies. Facebook for one, is looking to go public in 2012, and has recently raised $450 million from Goldman Sachs, giving it a $50 billion valuation. LinkedIn Corp., the largest networking site for professionals, is set to go public sometime this year, and already has a team of bankers. Groupon recently raised $950 million in funding, and allow older investors and employees cash out. Investors in the latest financing round were venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Groupon recently spurned Google GOOG which was looking to buy the company for $6 billion. Groupon offers daily email discounts of as much as 90 percent from local businesses to consumers they might not otherwise go to.