Dealbook writes: This summer, Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, flew to Chicago to personally pitch his firm to underwrite what was supposed to be the hottest initial public offering of the year: Groupon, the fledgling online coupon company that was being valued at around $30 billion.
Mr. Blankfein’s pitch succeeded and Goldman was selected as one of three lead underwriters, including Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. As the summer progressed, some insiders whispered that the offering could value the company at even more. For Wall Street, the I.P.O. was the ultimate bragging right.
They probably aren’t bragging anymore. Groupon’s triple-digit growth has slowed, slicing Groupon’s valuation in half — if not more. Analysts now suggest the valuation will be lucky to be more than $10 billion. A series of accounting and disclosure gaffes have brought the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, raising questions about the company’s credibility....
Find out more at http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/the-missed-red-flags-on-groupon/
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