Groupon Adds an Additional 11 Underwriters to IPO, Hopes to Raise $750 Million

Groupon Inc., the popular daily deal site, has added 11 underwriters to its initial public offering, bringing the total consortium to 14. The company, which is hoping to raise $750 million in its IPO this year, has already hired Goldman Sachs GS, Morgan Stanley MS, and Credit Suisse CS as the lead underwriters. A Reuters report notes that "JPMorgan JPM, Allen & Co, Bank of America Merrill Lynch BAC, Barclays Capital BCS, Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank Securities DB, William Blair & Co, Citadel Securities, Loop Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets and the Williams Capital Group, were added as underwriters, according to an updated regulatory filing late on Thursday." Groupon also cautioned investors about a spontaneous statement from one of its founders to Bloomberg. Eric Lefkofsky was quoted as saying "Groupon was going to be wildly profitable." The filing comments that "The reported statement does not accurately or completely reflect Mr. Lefkofsky's views and should not be considered by prospective investors in isolation or at all," Groupon said in its updated IPO filing." Groupon goes on to note that "We have in the past and may continue to receive, a high degree of media coverage, including coverage that is not directly attributable to statements made by our officers and employees, incorrectly reports on statements made by our officers or employees, or is misleading as a result of omitting to state information provided by us or our officers or employees." Groupon was launched in 2008, and is based in Chicago. The company famously turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google GOOG.