• Blo, Monday, October 3, 2011 10:55 AM

It's been on-again off-again for Groupon and its IPO plans. The latest word, from Bloomberg, is that the deal site still plans to go public, but may have to scale back the offering amid "management gaffes, restated results and regulatory scrutiny." As a result, the valuation might need to drop to $3 billion to $5 billion to attract shareholders, Josef Schuster, founder of IPO investor IPOX Schuster, tells Bloomberg.

"That's a fraction of $25 billion that was said to be discussed as a potential valuation when Groupon met with underwriters earlier this year," it notes. Schuster adds: "Interest is diminishing by the week," regarding Groupon. "All the news that's coming out underlines some form of turmoil in the company. As an IPO investor, you don't want that."

Citing a volatile stock market, Groupon has already postponed its IPO one, and pushed back meetings with investors. Citing comments from Ryan Jacob, managing partner at Jacob Internet Fund, Bloomberg adds: "With investors more tepid on the company, it may have to delay the offering further, reduce the size or value, or pull it altogether."

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