Groupon’s Public Offering Will Bring Big Bucks to a Select Few

Groupon, the once-beloved and more recently maligned daily deals site, is finally expected to go public this week. Offering 30 million shares at $16-18 each, the IPO will value the Chicago-based company, at most, at roughly $11.4 billion—a significant discount from the $25 billion valuation floated for it earlier this year. Citing recent executive departures, business model weaknesses, and rivals in the online deals business, more than a few industry observers are bearish about Groupon’s prospects and say even the current valuation is too high.