Edgar Filing: Groupon, Inc.

2014 January - Form S-3ASR

As filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on January 3, 2014

Registration Statement No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

GROUPON, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	27-0903295 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

600 West Chicago Avenue

Suite 400

Chicago, Illinois 60654

312-676-5773

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Eric P. Lefkofsky

Chief Executive Officer

Groupon, Inc.

600 West Chicago Avenue

Suite 400

Chicago, Illinois 60654

312-676-5773

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copy to:

David R. Schellhase, Esq.

Daniel L. Horwood, Esq.

Groupon, Inc.

600 West Chicago Avenue

Suite 400

Chicago, Illinois 60654

312-676-5773

Steven J. Gavin, Esq.

Matthew F. Bergmann, Esq.

Winston & Strawn LLP

35 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, Illinois 60601

312-558-5600

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. o

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are being offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. x

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. x

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):



Large accelerated filer x	Accelerated filer o
Non-accelerated filer o (Do not check if smaller reporting company)	Smaller reporting company o

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE



Title of each class of securities to be registered	Amount to be registered(1)	Proposed maximum offering price per share(2)		Proposed maximum aggregate offering price(2)		Amount of the registration fee
Class A Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share	13,825,283	$	11.58	$	160,096,777	$	20,621

(1)

The shares of Class A common stock being registered will be issued to the selling stockholder named herein pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement dated November 6, 2013, by and among Groupon, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, LivingSocial, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and LivingSocial, B.V., a Netherlands limited liability company (as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated November 26, 2013 and Amendment No. 2 dated January 1, 2014 (the "Purchase Agreement").


(2)	Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(c) solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee on the basis of the average of the high and low prices of Registrant’s Class A common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on December 31, 2013.



	Prospectus Dated January 3, 2014
	13,825,283 Shares

	Class A Common Stock
	This prospectus relates to resales of shares of Class A common stock previously issued by us in connection with a recent acquisition (the "Acquisition"). Pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, dated November 6, 2013 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated November 26, 2013 and Amendment no. 2 dated January 1, 2014, the "Purchase Agreement"), by and among Groupon, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, LivingSocial, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and LivingSocial, B.V., a Netherlands limited liability company, we purchased all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Living Social Korea, Inc. ("LS Korea"), a Korean corporation and holding company of Ticket Monster Inc., a Korean corporation ("Ticket Monster"), in exchange for cash and shares of our Class A common stock. Living Social, Inc., the selling stockholder, is the recipient of the shares of Class A common stock previously issued by us in connection with the Purchase Agreement. See "Selling Stockholder."
	This prospectus registers up to 13,825,283 shares of Class A common stock on behalf of the selling stockholder, consisting entirely of shares of Class A common stock previously issued to the selling stockholder.
	The selling stockholder identified in this prospectus, or their pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors in interest, may offer and sell the shares of Class A common stock being offered by this prospectus from time to time in public or private transactions, or both. These sales may occur at fixed prices, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices. The selling stockholder may sell shares to or through underwriters, broker-dealers or agents, who may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the selling stockholder, the purchasers of the shares, or both. See "Plan of Distribution" for a more complete description of the ways in which the shares may be sold.
	We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling stockholder.
	We have two classes of outstanding common stock, Class A common stock and Class B common stock. The rights of holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock are identical, except with respect to voting and conversion. Each share of Class A common stock is entitled to one vote per share. Each share of Class B common stock is entitled to 150 votes per share and is convertible at any time into one share of Class A common stock. Outstanding shares of Class B common stock represent approximately 34.6% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock.
	Our Class A common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "GRPN." On January 2, 2014, the closing sale price of our Class A common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $11.85 per share. You are urged to obtain current market quotations for our Class A common stock.
	A prospectus supplement may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement before you make your investment decision.
	_________________________
	Investing in our Class A common stock involves certain risks. You should carefully read and consider the section entitled "Risk Factors" on page 5 and the risk factors included in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in any applicable prospectus supplement and in any other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
	_________________________
	Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosures in this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
	______________________________________________________________________________________
	The date of this prospectus is January 3, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS



	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	2

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	2

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	3

RISK FACTORS	5

USE OF PROCEEDS	20

ISSUANCE OF CLASS A COMMON STOCK TO SELLING STOCKHOLDERS	20

SELLING STOCKHOLDER	20

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	21

LEGAL MATTERS	22

EXPERTS	22

INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE	24

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION	24

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

We urge you to read carefully this prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading "Where You Can Find Additional Information," before buying any of the securities being offered.

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or in any amendment to this prospectus. Neither we nor the selling stockholder have authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any amendment to this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. Neither we nor the selling stockholder take any responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any information other than that contained in the foregoing documents.

The selling stockholder is offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of our Class A common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus, as well as the information filed previously with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and incorporated herein by reference, is accurate only as of the date of the document containing the information, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any sale of our Class A common stock.

A prospectus supplement may add to, update or change the information contained in this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement together with additional information described below under the heading "Where You Can Find Additional Information." In this prospectus, references to the "Company," "Groupon," "registrant," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Groupon, Inc. The phrase "this prospectus" refers to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, unless the context requires otherwise.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and other documents we file with the SEC contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about us, our future performance, the industry in which we operate, our beliefs and our management’s assumptions. In addition, other written or oral statements that constitute forward-looking statements may be made by us or on our behalf. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including those in certain of our filings with the SEC incorporated by reference herein. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Other risks, uncertainties and factors, including the risk factors discussed under "Risk Factors" and those discussed in our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements after the distribution of this prospectus, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights important features of this offering and the information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our Class A common stock. You should carefully read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in our Class A common stock.

Groupon, Inc.

Our mission is to be the world's commerce operating system, increasing consumer buying power while driving more business to merchants through price and discovery. As part of that vision, we act as a local commerce marketplace that connects merchants to consumers by offering goods and services at a discount. Traditionally, local merchants have tried to reach consumers and generate sales through a variety of methods, including online advertising, the yellow pages, direct mail, newspaper, radio, television, and promotions. By bringing the brick and mortar world of local commerce onto the Internet, Groupon is helping local merchants to attract customers and sell goods and services. In our Goods category, through which we offer deals on merchandise, we often act as the merchant of record, particularly on deals in North America. We provide consumers with savings and help them discover what to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel.

Current and potential customers are able to access our deals through email, our websites and mobile applications, where we offer discounts on goods, services, travel and events that are targeted by location, purchase history and personal preferences. Our revenue from deals where we act as the third party marketing agent is the purchase price paid by the customer for a Groupon voucher ("Groupon") less an agreed upon portion of the purchase price paid to the featured merchants, excluding any applicable taxes and net of estimated refunds for which the merchant's share is recoverable. Our direct revenue from deals where we act as the merchant of record is the purchase price paid by the customer for the Groupon excluding any applicable taxes and net of estimated refunds. We generated revenue of $1,805.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2013, as compared to $1,696.2 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2012. We generated a net loss of $10.1 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2013, as compared to net income of $29.0 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

Our operations are organized into three principal segments: North America, EMEA, which is comprised of Europe, Middle East and Africa, and the remainder of our international operations ("Rest of World"). During the second quarter of 2013, we changed the composition of our operating segments to separate its former International segment between EMEA and Rest of World. See Note 11 "Segment Information" to our financial statements included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 incorporated herein by reference for further information. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, we derived 59.7% of our revenue from our North America segment, 27.2% of our revenue from our EMEA segment and 13.1% of our revenue from our Rest of World segment.

We had an accumulated deficit of $767.6 million as of September 30, 2013. Since our inception, we have driven our growth through substantial investments in infrastructure and marketing to increase customer acquisition. In particular, our significant net losses in previous years were driven in part by the rapid expansion of our EMEA and Rest of World segments, which involved investing heavily in upfront marketing, sales and infrastructure related to the build out of our operations in early stage countries.

This prospectus relates to resales of shares of Class A common stock previously issued by us in connection with a recent acquisition. Pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, dated November 6, 2013 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated November 26, 2013 and amendment No. 2 dated January 1, 2014, the "Purchase Agreement"), by and among Groupon, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., a Delaware corporation, LivingSocial, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Living Social" or the "selling stockholder"), and LivingSocial, B.V., a Netherlands limited liability company, we purchased all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Living Social Korea, Inc. ("LS Korea"), a Korean corporation and holding company of Ticket Monster Inc., a Korean corporation ("Ticket Monster"), in exchange for cash and shares of our Class A common stock. The selling stockholder is the recipient of the shares of Class A common stock previously issued by us in connection with the Purchase Agreement.

The aggregate purchase price payable to the selling stockholder pursuant to the Purchase Agreement is $260,000,000 (the "Aggregate Consideration"). The Aggregate Consideration is comprised of the following: 13,825,283 shares of our Class A common stock issued on January 2, 2014 and $100,000,000 in cash.

Our principal executive offices are located at 600 West Chicago Avenue, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60654. Our telephone number is 312-676-5773. Our website is located at www.groupon.com. The information on, or accessible through, our website is not part of this prospectus.

The Offering



Class A Common Stock Offered by the Selling Stockholder	13,825,283

Class A Common Stock to be Outstanding After this Offering	679,376,071. The number of shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding will not change as a result of this offering.

Use of Proceeds	We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares in this offering.

NASDAQ Global Select Market Symbol	GRPN

Risk Factors	See "Risk Factors" on page 5 of this prospectus.

RISK FACTORS

Our business, prospects, financial condition, operating results and the trading price of our Class A common stock could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks, as well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our revenue and operating results may continue to be volatile.

Our revenue and operating results will continue to vary from quarter to quarter due to the rapidly evolving nature of our business. We believe that our revenue growth and ability to achieve and maintain profitability will depend, among other factors, on our ability to:


•	acquire new customers and retain existing customers;


•	attract new merchants and retain existing merchants who wish to offer deals through the sale of Groupons;


•	effectively address and respond to challenges in international markets;


•	expand the number, variety and relevance of products and deals we offer, particularly as we attempt to build a more complete local marketplace;


•	increase the awareness of our brand domestically and internationally;


•	successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of business combinations or acquisitions, including our acquisition of Ticket Monster;


•	provide a superior customer service experience for our customers and merchants;


•	respond to changes in consumer and merchant access to and use of the Internet and mobile devices;


•	effectively utilize Internet search engines to generate traffic to our websites;


•	react to challenges from existing and new competitors; and


•	respond to seasonal changes in supply and demand.

In addition, our margins and profitability may depend on our product sales mix, our geographic revenue mix and merchant pricing terms. For example, sales in our Goods category, which typically carry lower margins than sales in our Local category, have grown faster in some recent periods, which has resulted in lower margins and profitability during those periods. Accordingly, our profitability may vary significantly from quarter to quarter.

Our strategy to become a complete local commerce marketplace may not be successful and may expose us to additional risks.

One of our key objectives is to expand upon our traditional daily deals business by building out a more extensive local commerce marketplace. This strategy has required us to devote significant resources to attracting and retaining merchants who are willing to run deals on a continuous basis with us in order to build a significant inventory for our customers, as well as continuing management focus and attention. We have accepted, and expect to continue to accept, a lower percentage of the gross billings from some of our merchants as we expand our marketplace. In addition, we are continuously refining our process for presenting the most relevant deals to our customers based on their personal preferences. If we are not successful in pursuing these objectives, our business, financial position and results of operations could be harmed.

If we are unable to successfully respond to changes in the market, our business could be harmed.

Our business grew rapidly in prior periods as merchants and consumers have increasingly used our marketplace. However, this is a new market which we created in late 2008 and which has operated at a substantial scale for only a limited period of time. Given the limited history, we are constantly evolving our strategy and may not always be successful in doing so. For example, we experienced a decline in revenue from our EMEA and Rest of World segments during the three months ended September 30, 2013,

as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2012. We expect that the market will evolve in ways which may be difficult to predict. For example, we believe that in some of our markets, including North America, investments in new customer acquisition are less productive and the continued growth of our revenue will require more focus on increasing or maintaining the rate at which our existing customers purchase Groupons and our ability to expand the number and variety of deals that we offer. It is also possible that merchants or customers could broadly determine that they no longer believe in the value of our current services or marketplace. In the event of these or any other changes to the market, our continued success will depend on our ability to successfully adjust our strategy to meet the changing market dynamics. If we are unable to successfully adapt to changes in our markets, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer a material negative impact.

Our international operations are subject to increased challenges, and our inability to adapt to the varied commercial and regulatory landscapes of our international markets may adversely affect our business.

Our ability to grow our business in our international markets requires management attention and resources and requires us to localize our services to conform to a wide variety of local cultures, business practices, laws and policies. The different commercial and Internet infrastructure in other countries may make it more difficult for us to replicate our business model. In many countries, we compete with local companies that understand the local market better than we do, and we may not benefit from first-to-market advantages. We are subject to risks of doing business internationally, including the following:


•	our ability to maintain merchant and customer satisfaction such that our marketplace will continue to attract high quality merchants;


•	our ability to successfully respond to macroeconomic challenges, including by optimizing our deal mix to take into account consumer preferences at a particular point in time;


•	strong local competitors, many of whom have been in the market longer than us;


•	different regulatory requirements, including regulation of gift cards and coupon terms, Internet services, professional selling, distance selling, bulk emailing, privacy and data protection, banking and money transmitting, that may limit or prevent the offering of our services in some jurisdictions or limit our ability to enforce contractual obligations;


•	difficulties in integrating with local payment providers, including banks, credit and debit card networks and electronic funds transfer systems;


•	different employee/employer relationships and the existence of workers' councils and labor unions;


•	shorter payment cycles, different accounting practices and greater problems in collecting accounts receivable;


•	higher Internet service provider costs;


•	seasonal reductions in business activity;


•	expenses associated with localizing our products, including offering customers the ability to transact business in the local currency; and


•	differing intellectual property laws.

We are subject to complex foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations, including data privacy and protection requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Anti-Bribery Act and similar local laws prohibiting certain payments to government officials, banking and payment processing regulations, and anti-competition regulations, among others. The cost of complying with these various and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations is substantial. We have implemented policies and procedures to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, however, we cannot assure you that our employees, contractors, or agents will not violate our policies. Changing laws, regulations and enforcement actions in the U.S. and the rest of the world could harm our business.

If, as we continue to expand internationally, we are unable to successfully replicate our business model due to these and other commercial and regulatory constraints in our international markets, our business may be adversely affected.

Our financial results will be adversely affected if we are unable to execute on our marketing strategy.

We have historically focused our marketing spend on customer acquisition, and we have recently begun to also focus on activating new customers and retaining existing customers. While our marketing expense declined during the three months ended September 30, 2013, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2012, we expect to increase our marketing spend in future periods as we attempt to continue to grow our customer base. If our assumptions regarding our marketing efforts and strategies prove incorrect, our ability to generate profits from our investments in new customer acquisitions may be less than we have assumed. In such case, we may need to increase expenses or otherwise alter our strategy and our results of operations could be negatively impacted.

If we fail to retain our existing customers or acquire new customers, our revenue and business will be harmed.

We must continue to retain and acquire customers that purchase Groupons in order to increase revenue and achieve consistent profitability. As our customer base continues to evolve, it is possible that the composition of our customers may change in a manner that makes it more difficult to generate revenue to offset the loss of existing customers and the costs associated with acquiring and retaining customers. If customers do not perceive our Groupon offers to be attractive or if we fail to introduce new and more relevant deals, we may not be able to retain or acquire customers at levels necessary to grow our business and profitability. If we are unable to acquire new customers who purchase Groupons in numbers sufficient to grow our business and offset the number of existing active customers that cease to purchase Groupons, the revenue we generate may decrease and our operating results will be adversely affected.

Our future success depends upon our ability to retain and add high quality merchants.

We depend on our ability to attract and retain merchants that are prepared to offer products or services on compelling terms through our marketplace and provide our customers with a great experience. We do not have long-term arrangements to guarantee the availability of deals that offer attractive quality, value and variety to customers or favorable payment terms to us. In addition, if we are unsuccessful in our efforts to introduce services to merchants as part of our local commerce operating system, we will not experience a corresponding growth in our merchant pool sufficient to offset the cost of these initiatives. We must continue to attract and retain merchants in order to increase revenue and profitability. If new merchants do not find our marketing and promotional services effective, or if existing merchants do not believe that utilizing our services provides them with a long-term increase in customers, revenue or profits, they may stop making offers through our marketplace. In addition, we may experience attrition in our merchants in the ordinary course of business resulting from several factors, including losses to competitors and merchant closures or bankruptcies. If we are unable to attract new merchants in numbers sufficient to grow our business, or if too many merchants are unwilling to offer products or services with compelling terms through our marketplace or offer favorable payment terms to us, we may sell fewer Groupons and our operating results will be adversely affected.

If our efforts to market, advertise and promote products and services from our existing merchants are not successful, or if our existing merchants do not believe that utilizing our services provides them with a long-term increase in customers, revenue or profits, we may not be able to retain or attract merchants in sufficient numbers to grow our business or we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing expenses or reduce margins in order to attract new merchants. A significant increase in merchant attrition or decrease in merchant growth would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur losses in the future as we expand our business.

We had an accumulated deficit of $767.6 million as of September 30, 2013. We anticipate that our profitability will be impacted as we continue to invest in our growth, through increased spending in some areas and through accepting a lower percentage of the proceeds from our deals, as we attempt to add more merchants to our marketplace. These efforts may prove more difficult than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in realizing the benefits of these efforts in a short time frame, or at all. Many of our efforts to generate revenue from our business are new and unproven, and any failure to increase our revenue, as well as any changes in our mix of sales between our higher and lower margin categories, could prevent us from attaining or increasing, or could reduce, our profitability. We cannot be certain that we will be able to attain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. If we are unable to effectively manage these risks and difficulties as we encounter them, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

We operate in a highly competitive industry with relatively low barriers to entry, and must compete successfully in order to grow our business.

We expect competition in e-commerce generally, and group buying in particular, to continue to increase. A substantial

number of group buying sites that attempt to replicate our business model have emerged around the world. In addition to such competitors, we expect to increasingly compete against other large businesses who offer deals similar to ours as an add-on to their core business. We also expect to compete against other Internet sites that serve niche markets and interests. In some of our categories, such as goods, travel and entertainment, we compete against much larger companies who have more resources and significantly larger scale. In addition, we compete with traditional offline coupon and discount services, as well as newspapers, magazines and other traditional media companies who provide coupons and discounts on products and services.

We believe that our ability to compete successfully depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including the following:


•	the size and composition of our customer base and the number of merchants we feature;


•	the timing and market acceptance of deals we offer, including the developments and enhancements to those deals offered by us or our competitors;


•	customer and merchant service and support efforts;


•	selling and marketing efforts;


•	ease of use, performance, price and reliability of services offered either by us or our competitors;


•	our ability to generate large volumes of sales, particularly with respect to goods and travel deals;


•	our ability to cost-effectively manage our operations; and


•	our reputation and brand strength relative to our competitors.

Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources and larger customer bases than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to benefit from their existing customer base with lower customer acquisition costs or to respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in consumer habits. These competitors may engage in more extensive research and development efforts, undertake more far-reaching marketing campaigns and adopt more aggressive pricing policies, which may allow them to build larger customer bases or generate revenue from their customer bases more effectively than we do. Our competitors may offer deals that are similar to the deals we offer or that achieve greater market acceptance than the deals we offer. This could attract customers away from our websites and applications, reduce our market share and adversely impact our gross margin. We also have seen that some competitors will accept lower margins, or negative margins, to attract attention and acquire new customers. If competitors engage in group buying initiatives in which merchants receive a higher percentage of the revenue than we currently offer, we may be forced to pay a higher percentage of the gross proceeds from each Groupon sold than we currently offer, which may reduce our revenue. In addition, we are dependent on some of our existing or potential competitors for banner advertisements and other marketing initiatives to acquire new customers. Our ability to utilize their platforms to acquire new customers may be adversely affected if they choose to compete more directly with us or prevent us from using their services.

If we are unable to maintain favorable terms with our merchants, our revenue may be adversely affected.

The success of our business depends in part on our ability to retain and increase the number of merchants who use our service, particularly as we continue to grow our marketplace. Currently, when a merchant works with us to offer a deal for its products or services, it receives an agreed-upon percentage of the total proceeds from each Groupon sold, and we retain the rest. If merchants decide that utilizing our services no longer provides an effective means of attracting new customers or selling their goods and services, they may demand a higher percentage of the total proceeds from each Groupon sold. In addition, as part of our strategy to grow our merchant base, we have been accepting a lower percentage of the total proceeds from each Groupon sold in some instances. This could adversely affect our revenue and gross profit.

In addition, we expect to face increased competition from other Internet and technology-based businesses. We also have seen that some competitors will accept lower margins, or negative margins, to attract attention and acquire new customers. If competitors engage in group buying initiatives in which merchants receive a higher percentage of the revenue than we currently offer, or if we target merchants who will only agree to run deals if they receive a higher percentage of the proceeds, we may be forced to take a lower percentage of the gross billings.

Our operating cash flow and results of operations could be adversely impacted if we change our merchant payment terms or our revenue does not continue to grow.

Our merchant payment terms and revenue growth have historically provided us with operating cash flow to fund our working capital needs. Our merchant arrangements are generally structured such that we collect cash up front when our customers purchase Groupons and make payments to our merchants at a subsequent date, either on a fixed schedule or upon redemption by customers. We currently pay our merchants upon redemption in many deals in our International markets, but we may continue to move toward offering payments on a fixed schedule in those markets. Additionally, payment arrangements in our Goods category generally result in us paying merchants on a more accelerated basis than payment arrangements in our Local category.

Our accrued merchant and supplier payable balance decreased from $671.3 million as of December 31, 2012 to $591.5 million as of September 30, 2013, due primarily to our seasonally strong Goods business in the fourth quarter of 2012, which resulted in increased payments to merchants and suppliers during the first quarter of 2013 and a corresponding decline in our cash flows from operations. Our operating cash flows have been adversely impacted by lower growth in our Local category in recent periods. We have used the operating cash flow provided by our merchant payment terms and revenue growth to fund our working capital needs. If we offer our merchants more favorable or accelerated payment terms or our revenue does not continue to grow in the future, our operating cash flow and results of operations could be adversely impacted and we may have to seek alternative financing to fund our working capital needs.

Our success is dependent upon our ability to provide a superior mobile experience for our customers, and our customers' continued ability to access our offerings through mobile devices.

In North America, over 50% of all transactions were completed on mobile devices during September 2013. During September 2013, over 40% of our transactions worldwide were completed on mobile devices. In order to continue to grow our mobile transactions, it is critical that our applications work well with a range of mobile technologies, systems, networks and standards. Our business may be adversely affected if our customers choose not to access our offerings on their mobile devices or use mobile devices that do not offer access to our mobile applications.

Our business depends on our ability to maintain and scale the network infrastructure necessary to send our emails and operate our websites, mobile applications and transaction processing systems, and any significant disruption in service on our email infrastructure, websites, mobile applications or transaction processing systems could result in a loss of subscribers, customers or merchants.

Subscribers access our deals through our websites and mobile applications, as well as via emails that are often targeted by location, purchase history and personal preferences. Our reputation and ability to acquire, retain and serve our current customers and potential customers are dependent upon the reliable performance of our websites, mobile applications, email delivery and transaction processing systems and the underlying network infrastructure. As our subscriber base and the amount of information shared on our websites and applications continue to grow, we will need an increasing amount of network capacity and computing power. We have spent and expect to continue to spend substantial amounts on data centers and equipment and related network infrastructure to handle the traffic on our websites and applications. The operation of these systems is expensive and complex and could result in operational failures. In the event that our subscriber base or the amount of traffic and transactions on our websites and applications grows more quickly than anticipated, we may be required to incur significant additional costs. Interruptions in these systems, whether due to system failures, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or otherwise (including spam filters preventing emails from reaching subscribers), could affect the security or availability of our websites and applications, and prevent our subscribers from accessing our services. If we do not maintain or expand our network infrastructure successfully or if we experience operational failures, we could lose current and potential subscribers and merchants, which could harm our operating results and financial condition.

In addition, a substantial portion of our network infrastructure is hosted by third party providers. Any failure of these providers to handle existing or increased traffic and transactions could significantly harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties these providers face may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide.

If our emails are not delivered and accepted by email providers, or are routed by email providers in a less favorable way than other emails, our business may be substantially harmed.

If email providers implement new or more restrictive email delivery policies it may become more difficult to deliver emails to customers. For example, certain email providers have started to categorize emails as "promotional," and these emails are directed to an alternate section of a customer’s inbox. If email providers materially limit or halt the delivery of our emails,

or if we fail to deliver emails to customers in a manner compatible with email providers’ email handling or authentication technologies, our operating results and financial condition could be substantially harmed. In addition, if we are placed on "spam" lists or lists of entities that have been involved in sending unwanted, unsolicited emails, our ability to contact customers through email could be significantly restricted.

We purchase and sell some products from indirect suppliers, which increases our risk of litigation and other losses.

We source merchandise both directly from brand owners and indirectly from retailers and third party distributors, and we often take title to the goods before we offer them for sale to our customers. Further, some brand owners, retailers and third party distributors may be unwilling to offer products for sale on the Internet or through Groupon in particular, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to source and offer popular products. By selling merchandise sourced from parties other than the brand owners, we are subject to an increased risk that the merchandise may be damaged or non-authentic, which could result in potential liability under applicable laws, regulations, agreements and orders, and increase the amount of returned merchandise. In addition, brand owners may take legal action against us, which even if we prevail could result in costly litigation, generate bad publicity for us, and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to inventory management and order fulfillment risks as a result of our Goods category.

We purchase much of the merchandise that we offer for sale to our customers, and we expect to increase the percentage of merchandise that we offer directly for sale as compared to merchandise that our customers purchase directly from third parties. The demand for products can change for a variety of reasons, including customer preference, quality, seasonality, and the perceived value from customers of purchasing the product through us. In addition, this is a new business for us, and therefore we have a limited historical basis upon which to predict customer demand for the products. If we are unable to adequately predict customer demand and efficiently manage our inventory, we could either have an excess or a shortage of inventory, either of which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Purchasing the goods ourselves prior to the sale also means that we will be required to fulfill orders on an efficient and cost-effective basis. Many other online retailers have significantly larger inventory balances and therefore are able to rely on past experience and economies of scale to optimize their order fulfillment. Delays or inefficiencies in our processes could subject us to additional costs, as well as customer dissatisfaction, which would adversely affect our business.

The integration of our international operations with our North American technology platform may result in business interruptions.

We currently use a common technology platform in our North America segment to operate our business and are in the process of migrating our operations in our EMEA and Rest of World segments to the same platform. Such changes to our technology platform and related software carry risks such as cost overruns, project delays and business interruptions and delays. If we experience a material business interruption as a result of this process, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations and could cause the market value of our Class A common stock to decline.

We are involved in pending litigation and an adverse resolution of such litigation may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are involved in litigation regarding, among other matters, patent, consumer, securities and employment issues. Litigation can be expensive, time-consuming and disruptive to normal business operations. The results of complex legal proceedings are often uncertain and difficult to predict. An unfavorable outcome with respect to any of these lawsuits could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. For additional information regarding these and other lawsuits in which we are involved, see Note 6 "Commitments and Contingencies" to the financial statements included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 incorporated herein by reference.

An increase in our refund rates could reduce our liquidity and profitability.

Customers have the ability to receive a refund of their purchase price upon the occurrence of specified events. As we increase our revenue and expand our product offerings, our refund rates may exceed our historical levels. For example, as a result of a shift in our deal mix and higher price point offers that began in the fourth quarter of 2011, our refund rates became higher than historical levels. A downturn in general economic conditions may also increase our refund rates. An increase in our refund rates could significantly reduce our liquidity and profitability.

Because we do not have control over our merchants and the quality of products or services they deliver, we rely on a

statistical model that incorporates the following data inputs and factors to estimate future refunds: historical refund experience developed from millions of deals featured on our website, the relative risk of refunds based on expiration date, deal value, deal category and other qualitative factors that could impact the level of future refunds, such as introductions of new deals, discontinuations of legacy deals and expected changes, if any, in our practices in response to refund experience or economic trends that might impact customer demand. Our actual level of refund claims could prove to be greater than the level of refund claims we estimate. If our refund reserves are not adequate to cover future refund claims, this inadequacy could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and profitability.

Our standard agreements with our merchants generally limit the time period during which we may seek reimbursement for customer refunds or claims. Our customers may make claims for refunds with respect to which we are unable to seek reimbursement from our merchants. Our inability to seek reimbursement from our merchants for refund claims could have an adverse effect on our liquidity and profitability.

The loss of one or more key members of our management team, or our failure to attract, integrate and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future could harm our business.

In order to be successful, we must attract, retain and motivate executives and other key employees, including those in managerial, technical and sales positions. Hiring and retaining qualified executives, engineers and qualified sales representatives are critical to our success, and competition for experienced and well qualified employees can be intense. In order to attract and retain executives and other key employees in a competitive marketplace, we must provide a competitive compensation package, including cash and share-based compensation. Our primary form of share-based incentive award is restricted stock units. If the anticipated value of such share-based incentive awards does not materialize, if our share-based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, or if our total compensation package is not viewed as being competitive, our ability to attract, retain, and motivate executives and key employees could be weakened. The failure to successfully hire executives and key employees or the loss of any executives and key employees could have a significant impact on our operations.

An increase in the costs associated with maintaining our international operations could adversely affect our results of operations.

Certain factors may cause our international costs of doing business to exceed our comparable costs in North America. For example, in some countries, expansion of our business may require a close commercial relationship with one or more local banks, a shared ownership interest with a local entity or registration as a bank under local law. Such requirements may reduce our revenue, increase our costs or limit the scope of our activities in particular countries.

Further, because our international revenue is denominated in foreign currencies, we could become subject to increased difficulties in collecting accounts receivable and repatriating money without adverse tax consequences and increased risks relating to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Further, we could be subject to the application of U.S. tax rules to acquired international operations and local taxation of our fees or of transactions on our websites.

We conduct portions of certain functions, including product development, customer support and other operations, in regions outside of North America. Any factors which reduce the anticipated benefits, including cost efficiencies and productivity improvements, associated with providing these functions outside of North America, including increased regulatory costs associated with our international operations, could adversely affect our business.

We may be subject to additional unexpected regulation which could increase our costs or otherwise harm our business.

The application of certain laws and regulations to Groupons, as a new product category, is uncertain. These include laws and regulations such as the CARD Act, and, in certain instances, potentially unclaimed and abandoned property laws. In addition, from time to time, we may be notified of additional laws and regulations which governmental organizations or others may claim should be applicable to our business. If we are required to alter our business practices as a result of any laws and regulations, our revenue could decrease, our costs could increase and our business could otherwise be harmed. In addition, the costs and expenses associated with defending any actions related to such additional laws and regulations and any payments of related penalties, judgments or settlements could adversely impact our profitability. As we expand into new lines of business and new geographies, we will become subject to additional laws and regulations.

We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities.

Our income tax obligations are based on our corporate operating structure, including the manner in which we develop, value, and use our intellectual property and the scope of our international operations. The tax laws applicable to our international business activities, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation. The taxing authorities

of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, which could increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position and results of operations. In addition, our future income taxes could be adversely affected by greater earnings in jurisdictions that have higher statutory tax rates, by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or by changes in tax laws, regulations, or accounting principles. We are subject to regular review and audit by both U.S. federal and state and foreign tax authorities. Any adverse outcome of such a review or audit could have a negative effect on our financial position and results of operations. In addition, the determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment by management, and there are many transactions where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made.

The enactment of legislation implementing changes in the U.S. taxation of international business activities or the adoption of other tax reform policies could materially affect our financial position and results of operations.

The current administration has made public statements indicating that it has made international tax reform a priority, and key members of the U.S. Congress have conducted hearings and proposed a wide variety of potential changes. Certain changes to U.S. tax laws, including limitations on the ability to defer U.S. taxation on earnings outside of the United States until those earnings are repatriated to the United States, could affect the tax treatment of our foreign earnings, as well as cash and cash equivalent balances we currently maintain outside of the United States. Due to the large and expanding scale of our international business activities, any changes in the U.S. taxation of such activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial position and results of operations.

The implementation of the CARD Act and similar state and foreign laws may harm our business and results of operations.

It is not clear at this time, but Groupons may be considered gift cards, gift certificates, stored value cards or prepaid cards and therefore governed by, among other laws, the CARD Act, and state laws governing gift cards, stored value cards and coupons. Other foreign jurisdictions have similar laws in place, in particular European jurisdictions where the European E-Money Directive regulates the business of electronic money institutions. Many of these laws contain provisions governing the use of gift cards, gift certificates, stored value cards or prepaid cards, including specific disclosure requirements and prohibitions or limitations on the use of expiration dates and the imposition of certain fees. For example, if Groupons are subject to the CARD Act and are not included in the exemption for promotional programs, it is possible that the purchase value, which is the amount equal to the price paid for the Groupon, or the promotional value, which is the add-on value of the Groupon in excess of the price paid, or both, may not expire before the later of (i) five years after the date on which the Groupon was issued or the date on which the customer last loaded funds on the Groupon if the Groupon has a reloadable feature; (ii) the Groupon's stated expiration date (if any); or (iii) a later date provided by applicable state law. We and several merchants are currently defendants in purported class action litigation that has been filed in federal and state court claiming that Groupons are subject to the CARD Act and various state laws governing gift cards and that the defendants have violated these laws by issuing Groupons with expiration dates and other restrictions. In the event that it is determined that Groupons are subject to the CARD Act or any similar state or foreign law or regulation, and are not within various exemptions that may be available to Groupon under the CARD Act or under some of the various state or foreign jurisdictions, our liabilities with respect to unredeemed Groupons may be materially higher than the amounts shown in our financial statements and we may be subject to additional fines and penalties. In addition, if federal or state laws require that the face value of Groupons have a minimum expiration period beyond the period desired by a merchant for its promotional program, or no expiration period, this may affect the willingness of merchants to issue Groupons in jurisdictions where these laws apply.

If we are required to materially increase the estimated liability recorded in our financial statements with respect to unredeemed Groupons, our results from operations could be materially and adversely affected.

In certain states and foreign jurisdictions, Groupons may be considered a gift card. Some of these states and foreign jurisdictions include gift cards under their unclaimed and abandoned property laws which require companies to remit to the government the value of the unredeemed balance on the gift cards after a specified period of time (generally between one and five years) and impose certain reporting and record-keeping obligations. We do not remit any amounts relating to unredeemed Groupons based on our assessment of applicable laws. The analysis of the potential application of the unclaimed and abandoned property laws to Groupons is complex, involving an analysis of constitutional and statutory provisions and factual issues, including our relationship with customers and merchants and our role as it relates to the issuance and delivery of a Groupon. In the event that one or more states or foreign jurisdictions successfully challenges our position on the application of its unclaimed and abandoned property laws to Groupons, or if the estimates that we use in projecting the likelihood of Groupons being redeemed prove to be inaccurate, our liabilities with respect to unredeemed Groupons may be materially higher than the amounts shown in our financial statements. If we are required to materially increase the estimated liability recorded in our financial statements with respect to unredeemed gift cards, our net income could be materially and adversely affected. Moreover, a successful challenge to our position

could subject us to penalties or interest on unreported and unremitted sums, and any such penalties or interest would have a further material adverse impact on our net income.

Government regulation of the Internet and e-commerce is evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by us to comply with these regulations could substantially harm our business and results of operations.

We are subject to general business regulations and laws as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet and e-commerce. Existing and future regulations and laws could impede the growth of the Internet or other online services. These regulations and laws may involve taxation, tariffs, subscriber privacy, anti-spam, data protection, content, copyrights, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, consumer protection, the provision of online payment services and the characteristics and quality of services. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales and other taxes, libel and personal privacy apply to the Internet as the vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised by the Internet or e-commerce. In addition, it is possible that governments of one or more countries may seek to censor content available on our websites and applications or may even attempt to completely block our emails or access to our websites. Adverse legal or regulatory developments could substantially harm our business. In particular, in the event that we are restricted, in whole or in part, from operating in one or more countries, our ability to retain or increase our customer base may be adversely affected and we may not be able to maintain or grow our revenue as anticipated.

New tax treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce may adversely affect the commercial use of our services and our financial results.

Due to the global nature of the Internet, it is possible that various states or foreign countries might attempt to regulate our transmissions or levy sales, income or other taxes relating to our activities. Tax authorities at the international, federal, state and local levels are currently reviewing the appropriate treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce. New or revised international, federal, state or local tax regulations may subject us or our customers to additional sales, income and other taxes. We cannot predict the effect of current attempts to impose sales, income or other taxes on commerce over the Internet. New or revised taxes and, in particular, sales taxes, VAT and similar taxes would likely increase the cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of advertising and selling goods and services over the Internet. New taxes could also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data, and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Failure to comply with federal, state and international privacy laws and regulations, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new privacy laws or regulations, could adversely affect our business.

A variety of federal, state and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of consumer data. The existing privacy-related laws and regulations are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. In addition, various federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current or enact new laws regarding privacy matters. For example, recently there have been Congressional hearings and increased attention to the capture and use of location-based information relating to users of smartphones and other mobile devices. We have posted privacy policies and practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of subscriber data on our websites and applications. Several Internet companies have incurred substantial penalties for failing to abide by the representations made in their privacy policies and practices. In addition, several states have adopted legislation that requires businesses to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect sensitive personal information and to provide notice to consumers in the event of a security breach. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with any data-related consent orders, Federal Trade Commission requirements or orders or other federal, state or international privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations or industry self-regulatory principles could result in claims, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other liabilities, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, a failure or perceived failure to comply with industry standards or with our own privacy policies and practices could result in a loss of subscribers or merchants and adversely affect our business. Federal, state and international governmental authorities continue to evaluate the privacy implications inherent in the use of third party web "cookies" for behavioral advertising. The regulation of these cookies and other current online advertising practices could adversely affect our business.

We may suffer liability as a result of information retrieved from or transmitted over the Internet and claims related to our service offerings.

We may be, and in certain cases have been, sued for defamation, civil rights infringement, negligence, patent, copyright or trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, personal injury, product liability, breach of contract, unfair competition, discrimination, antitrust or other legal claims relating to information that is published or made available on our websites or service

offerings we make available (including provision of an application programming interface platform for third parties to access our website, mobile device services and geolocation applications). This risk is enhanced in certain jurisdictions outside the United States, where our liability for such third party actions may be less clear and we may be less protected. In addition, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims, even if we ultimately are not found liable. If any of these events occurs, our net income could be materially and adversely affected.

We are subject to risks associated with information disseminated through our websites and applications, including consumer data, content that is produced by our editorial staff and errors or omissions related to our product offerings. Such information, whether accurate or inaccurate, may result in our being sued by our merchants, subscribers or third parties and as a result our revenue and goodwill could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be subject to breaches of our information technology systems, which could harm our relationships with our customers and merchants, subject us to negative publicity and litigation, and cause substantial harm to our business.

In operating a global online business, we and our third party service providers maintain significant proprietary information and manage large amounts of personal data and confidential information about our employees, customers and merchants. Because of our high profile and the number of customer records we maintain, we and the third party providers are at an increased risk of attacks on our systems.

Our risk and exposure to these matters remains heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of these threats, our prominent size and scale, our plans to implement our entrance into the mobile payments space, our expanded geographic footprint and international presence, the outsourcing of some of our business operations and threats of cyber-attacks. Although cybersecurity and the continued development and enhancement of our controls, processes and practices designed to protect our systems, computers, software, data and networks from attack, damage or unauthorized access are a high priority for us, this may not successfully protect our systems against all vulnerabilities, including technologies developed to bypass our security measures. In addition, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, merchants or customers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our secure systems and networks. For example, in May 2013, a hacker accessed a database of our Taiwan subscribers containing usernames and passwords.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities. Further, because the techniques used to gain access to, or sabotage, systems often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate the correct methods necessary to defend against these types of attacks. Any actual breach, the perceived threat of a breach or a perceived breach, could cause our customers and merchants to cease doing business with us, subject us to lawsuits, regulatory fines or other action or liability, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights or may be accused of infringing intellectual property rights of third parties.

We regard our trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents, trade dress, trade secrets, proprietary technology, merchant lists, subscriber lists, sales methodology and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark, copyright and patent law, trade secret protection and confidentiality and/or license agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. Effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which our deals are made available. We also may not be able to acquire or maintain appropriate domain names or trademarks in all countries in which we do business. Furthermore, regulations governing domain names may not protect our trademarks and similar proprietary rights. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring and using domain names that are similar to, infringe upon or diminish the value of our trademarks and other proprietary rights. We may be unable to prevent third parties from using and registering our trademarks, or trademarks that are similar to, or diminish the value of, our trademarks in some countries.

We may not be able to discover or determine the extent of any unauthorized use of our proprietary rights. Third parties that license our intellectual property rights also may take actions that diminish the value of our proprietary rights or reputation. The protection of our intellectual property may require the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. Moreover, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may not adequately protect our rights or prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating our proprietary rights. We are currently subject to multiple lawsuits and disputes related to our intellectual property and service offerings. We may in the future be subject to additional litigation and disputes. The costs of engaging in such litigation and disputes are considerable, and there can be no assurances that favorable outcomes will be obtained.

We are currently subject to third party claims that we infringe their proprietary rights or trademarks and expect to be subject to additional claims in the future. Such claims, whether or not meritorious, may result in the expenditure of significant

financial and managerial resources, injunctions against us or the payment of damages by us. We may need to obtain licenses from third parties who allege that we have infringed their rights, but such licenses may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. These risks have been amplified by the increase in third parties whose sole or primary business is to assert such claims.

Our business depends on a strong brand, and if we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand, or if we receive unfavorable media coverage, our ability to expand our base of customers and merchants will be impaired and our business and operating results will be harmed.

We believe that the brand identity that we have developed has significantly contributed to the success of our business. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing the "Groupon" brand is critical to expanding our base of customers and merchants. Maintaining and enhancing our brand may require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. If we fail to promote and maintain the "Groupon" brand, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, operating results and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected. We anticipate that, as our market becomes increasingly competitive, maintaining and enhancing our brand may become increasingly difficult and expensive. Maintaining and enhancing our brand will depend largely on our ability to be a group buying leader and to continue to provide reliable, trustworthy and high quality deals, which we may not do successfully.

We receive a high degree of media coverage around the world. Unfavorable publicity or consumer perception of our websites, applications, practices or service offerings, or the offerings of our merchants, could adversely affect our reputation, resulting in difficulties in recruiting, decreased revenue and a negative impact on the number of merchants we feature and the size of our customer base, the loyalty of our customers and the number and variety of deals we offer each day. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic investments could result in operating difficulties, dilution and other harmful consequences.

We have in the past acquired a number of companies, including Ticket Monster, which we acquired on January 2, 2014 for aggregate consideration of $260 million. We expect to continue to evaluate, consider and potentially consummate a wide array of potential strategic transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, joint ventures, technologies, services, products and other assets and minority investments. However, we may be unable to successfully complete potential acquisitions. Acquisitions involve significant risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties as to the future financial performance of the acquired business, difficulties integrating acquired personnel into our business, the potential loss of key employees, customers or suppliers, difficulties in integrating different computer and accounting systems and exposure to unknown or unforeseen liabilities of acquired companies. We may not realize the anticipated benefits of any or all of our acquisitions and investments, or we may not realize them in the time frame expected. In addition, the integration of an acquisition could divert management's time and the company's resources. If we pay for an acquisition or a minority investment in cash, it would reduce our cash available for operations or cause us to incur debt, and if we pay with our stock it could be dilutive to our stockholders. Additionally, we do not have the ability to exert control over our joint ventures and minority investments, and therefore we are dependent on others in order to realize their potential benefits.

Our business may be subject to seasonal sales fluctuations which could result in volatility or have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock.

Our business, like that of our merchants, has been and may continue to be subject to some degree of sales seasonality. As the growth of our business stabilizes, these seasonal fluctuations may become more evident. Seasonality may cause our working capital cash flow requirements to vary from quarter to quarter depending on the variability in the volume and timing of sales. For example, we experienced a $72.3 million decline in operating cash flows during the nine months ended September 30, 2013 as the result of a decrease in accrued merchant and supplier payables, primarily due to the timing of payments to suppliers of merchandise after the seasonally high levels of Goods transactions in the fourth quarter of 2012. These factors, among other things, make forecasting more difficult and may adversely affect our ability to manage working capital and to predict financial results accurately, which could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Failure to deal effectively with fraudulent transactions and customer disputes would increase our loss rate and harm our business.

Groupons are issued in the form of redeemable coupons with unique identifiers. It is possible that consumers or other third parties will seek to create counterfeit Groupons in order to fraudulently purchase discounted goods and services from our merchants. While we use advanced anti-fraud technologies, it is possible that technically knowledgeable criminals will attempt to circumvent our anti-fraud systems using increasingly sophisticated methods. In addition, our service could be subject to employee

fraud or other internal security breaches, and we may be required to reimburse customers and/or merchants for any funds stolen or revenue lost as a result of such breaches. Our merchants could also request reimbursement, or stop using Groupon, if they are affected by buyer fraud or other types of fraud.

We may incur significant losses from fraud and counterfeit Groupons. We may incur losses from claims that the customer did not authorize the purchase, from merchant fraud, from erroneous transmissions, and from customers who have closed bank accounts or have insufficient funds in them to satisfy payments. In addition to the direct costs of such losses, if they are related to credit card transactions and become excessive, they could potentially result in our losing the right to accept credit cards for payment. If we were unable to accept credit cards for payment, we would suffer substantial reductions in revenue, which would cause our business to suffer. While we have taken measures to detect and reduce the risk of fraud, these measures need to be continually improved and may not be effective against new and continually evolving forms of fraud or in connection with new product offerings. If these measures do not succeed, our business will suffer.

We are subject to payments-related risks.

We accept payments using a variety of methods, including credit card, debit card and gift certificates. As we offer new payment options to customers, we may be subject to additional regulations, compliance requirements and fraud. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower profitability. We rely on third parties to provide payment processing services, including the processing of credit cards and debit cards and it could disrupt our business if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, we may be subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from customers or facilitate other types of online payments, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

We are also subject to or voluntarily comply with a number of other laws and regulations relating to money laundering, international money transfers, privacy and information security and electronic fund transfers. If we were found to be in violation of applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties or forced to cease our payments services business. In addition, events affecting our third party payment processors, including cyber-attacks, Internet or other infrastructure or communications impairment or other events that could interrupt the normal operation of our payment processors, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Federal laws and regulations, such as the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act and similar foreign laws, could be expanded to include Groupons.

Various federal laws, such as the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act and foreign laws and regulations, such as the European Directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing, impose certain anti-money laundering requirements on companies that are financial institutions or that provide financial products and services. For these purposes, financial institutions are broadly defined to include money services businesses such as money transmitters, check cashers and sellers or issuers of stored value cards. Examples of anti-money laundering requirements imposed on financial institutions include subscriber identification and verification programs, record retention policies and procedures and transaction reporting. We do not believe that we are a financial institution subject to these laws and regulations based, in part, upon the characteristics of Groupons and our role with respect to the distribution of Groupons to subscribers. However, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department tasked with implementing the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, recently proposed amendments to the scope and requirements for parties involved in stored value or prepaid access cards, including a proposed expansion of financial institutions to include sellers or issuers of prepaid access cards. In the event that this proposal is adopted as proposed, it is possible that a Groupon could be considered a financial product and that we could be a financial institution. In the event that we become subject to the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act or any other anti-money laundering law or regulation imposing obligations on us as a money services business, our regulatory compliance costs to meet these obligations would likely increase which could reduce our net income.

State and foreign laws regulating money transmission could be expanded to include Groupons.

Many states and certain foreign jurisdictions impose license and registration obligations on those companies engaged in the business of money transmission, with varying definitions of what constitutes money transmission. We do not currently believe we are a money transmitter given our role and the product terms of Groupons. However, a successful challenge to our position or expansion of state or foreign laws could subject us to increased compliance costs and delay our ability to offer Groupons in certain jurisdictions pending receipt of any necessary licenses or registrations.

We will continue to incur significant costs as a result of being a public company.

We face increased legal, accounting, administrative and other costs and expenses as a public company that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, including the requirements of Section 404, as well as new rules and regulations subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the marketplace rules of the NASDAQ stock market, impose additional reporting and other obligations on public companies. Compliance with these public company requirements has increased our costs and made some activities more time-consuming. In connection with the preparation of our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011, our independent registered accounting firm identified a material weakness in the design and operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, and as a result we incurred additional costs remediating this material weakness. In addition, the existence of this issue could adversely affect us, our reputation or investor perceptions of us. It also may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. Advocacy efforts by stockholders and third-parties may also prompt even more changes in corporate governance and reporting requirements. The additional reporting and other obligations imposed on us by these rules and regulations has increased our legal and financial compliance costs and the costs of our related legal, accounting and administrative activities significantly. These increased costs require us to divert a significant amount of money that we could otherwise use to expand our business and achieve our strategic objectives.

Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited, and our failure to raise capital when needed could prevent us from growing.

We may in the future be required to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. Additional equity financing may dilute the interests of our common stockholders, and debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants and could reduce our profitability. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to grow our business or respond to competitive pressures.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock

The trading price of our Class A common stock is highly volatile

Our Class A common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on November 4, 2011 and since that date has fluctuated from a high of $31.14 per share to a low of $2.60 per share. We expect that the trading price of our stock will continue to be volatile due to variations in our operating results and also may change in response to other factors, including factors specific to technology companies, many of which are beyond our control. Among the factors that could affect our stock price are:


•	our earnings announcements, including any financial projections that we may choose to provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure for any reason to meet these projections or projections made by research analysts;


•	the amount of shares of our Class A common stock that are available for sale;


•	the relative success of competitive products or services;


•	the public's response to press releases or other public announcements by us or others, including our filings with the SEC and announcements relating to litigation;


•	speculation about our business in the press or the investment community;


•	future sales of our Class A common stock by our significant stockholders, officers and directors;


•	announcements about our share repurchase program and sales under the program;


•	changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of debt or equity securities;


•	our entry into new markets;


•	regulatory developments in the United States or foreign countries;


•	strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, joint ventures or restructuring; and


•	changes in accounting principles.

We expect the stock price volatility to continue for the foreseeable future as a result of these and other factors.

Purchases of shares of our Class A common stock pursuant to our stock repurchase program may affect the value of our Class A common stock.

Pursuant to our publicly announced share repurchase program, we are authorized to repurchase up to $300 million of our outstanding Class A common stock through August 2015. The timing and amount of any share repurchases will be determined based on market conditions, share price and other factors and may, in compliance with SEC rules and other legal requirements, occur during the offering of the securities described in this prospectus. This activity could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of our Class A common stock at that time.

The concentration of our capital stock ownership with our founders, executive officers, employees and directors and their affiliates will limit stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters.

Our Class B common stock has 150 votes per share and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. As of November 5, 2013, our founders, Eric Lefkofsky, Bradley Keywell and Andrew Mason control 100% of our outstanding Class B common stock and, based on information available to us, approximately 28.8% of our outstanding Class A common stock, representing approximately 53.8% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. Messrs. Lefkofsky, Keywell and Mason will therefore have significant influence over management and affairs and over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets, for the foreseeable future. This concentrated control will limit stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take actions that our stockholders do not view as beneficial. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

We intend to retain all of our earnings for the foreseeable future to finance the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends. As a result, stockholders can expect to receive a return on their investment in our Class A common stock only if the market price of the stock increases.

Provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as amended and restated upon the closing of this offering, may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. These provisions include the following:

•

Our certificate of incorporation provides for a dual class common stock structure. As a result of this structure, our founders will have significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets. This concentrated control could discourage others from initiating any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transaction that other stockholders may view as beneficial.


•	Our board of directors has the right to elect directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors.


•	Special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by our Executive Chairman of the Board, our Chief Executive Officer, our board of directors or holders of not less than the majority of our issued and outstanding capital stock. This limits the ability of minority stockholders to take certain actions without an annual meeting of stockholders.


•	Our stockholders may not act by written consent unless the action to be effected and the taking of such action by written consent is approved in advance by our board of directors. As a result, a holder, or holders, controlling a majority of our capital stock would generally not be able to take certain actions without holding a stockholders' meeting.


•	Our certificate of incorporation prohibits cumulative voting in the election of directors. This limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates.


•	Stockholders must provide timely notice to nominate individuals for election to the board of directors or to propose matters that can be acted upon an annual meeting of stockholders. These provisions may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquiror's own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.


•	Our board of directors may issue, without stockholder approval, shares of undesignated preferred stock. The ability to authorize undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to acquire us.

USE OF PROCEEDS

The proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock offered pursuant to this prospectus are solely for the account of the selling stockholder. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares in this offering.

ISSUANCE OF CLASS A COMMON STOCK TO SELLING STOCKHOLDER

The Aggregate Consideration payable to the selling stockholder in connection with the Acquisition is an amount equal to $260,000,000. The Aggregate Consideration for the Acquisition is comprised of (A) 13,825,283 shares of our Class A common stock issued on January 2, 2014 and (B) $100,000,000 in cash.

SELLING STOCKHOLDER

The following table sets forth certain information known to us with respect to beneficial ownership of our Class A common stock as of January 2, 2014 by the selling stockholder, as determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act.



Name of Selling Stockholder	Shares of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned Prior to this Offering(1)		Number of Shares of Class A Common Stock Being Offered(2)	Shares of Class A Common Stock Beneficially Owned After this Offering(2)
	Number	Percentage		Number	Percentage
LivingSocial, Inc. (3)(4)	13,825,283	2%	13,825,283	—	—%


(1)	"Beneficial ownership" means that a person, directly or indirectly, has or shares voting or investment power with respect to a security or has the right to acquire such power within 60 days. The number of shares beneficially owned is determined as of January 2, 2014, and the percentage is based upon 665,550,788 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2013.

(2)

The selling stockholder might not sell any or all of the shares offered by this prospectus. Because the selling stockholder may offer all or some of the shares pursuant to this registration statement, and because the Purchase Agreement does not specify how many shares the selling stockholder will selling pursuant to this Registration Statement and there are currently no agreements, arrangements or understandings with respect to the sale of any of the shares, we cannot estimate the number of shares that will be held by the selling stockholder after the completion of this offering.


(3)	The address for LivingSocial, Inc. is 1445 New York Avenue NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20005.


(4)	Includes 13,825,283 shares of our Class A common stock that were issued to LivingSocial, Inc. on January 2, 2014 pursuant to the Purchase Agreement.

Material Relationships

On November 6, 2013, we entered into the Purchase Agreement with LivingSocial, Inc. through which we purchased all of the issued and outstanding share capital of LS Korea, the holding company of Ticket Monster, in exchange for $100,000,000 in cash and 13,825,283 shares of our Class A common stock. The aggregate purchase price payable to LivingSocial, Inc. pursuant to the Purchase Agreement was $260,000,000.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The selling stockholder may sell the shares offered by this prospectus. The selling stockholder, including its donees, pledgees, transferees or other successors-in-interest selling shares of Class A common stock received after the date of this prospectus from a selling stockholder as a gift, pledge, partnership distribution or other transfer, may, from time to time, sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of their shares of Class A common stock or interests in shares of Class A common stock on any stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the shares are traded or in private transactions. These dispositions may be at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market price, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. To the extent the selling stockholder gifts, pledges, grants a security interest in, or otherwise transfers the shares offered hereby, such transferees may offer and sell the shares from time to time under this prospectus, provided that this prospectus has been amended under Rule 424(b)(3) or other applicable provision of the Securities Act to include the name of such transferee in the list of selling stockholders under this prospectus if and when necessary or required.

The selling stockholder will act independently of us in making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each sale. It may use any one or more of the following methods when disposing of shares or interests therein:


•	ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker-dealer solicits purchasers;


•	block trades in which a broker-dealer will attempt to sell the shares as agent, but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;


•	purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account under this prospectus;


•	an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;


•	privately negotiated transactions;


•	"at the market" or through market makers or into an existing market for the shares;


•	short sales entered into after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part;


•	through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise, after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part;


•	through the distribution of the Class A common stock by the selling stockholder to its partners, members or stockholders;


•	broker-dealers may agree with the selling stockholder to sell a specified number of such shares at a stipulated price per share;


•	through one or more underwritten offerings on a firm commitment or best efforts basis;


•	a combination of any such methods of sale; and


•	any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

In connection with the sale of the shares, the selling stockholder may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of the Class A common stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling stockholder may also sell shares of our Class A common stock short and deliver these securities to close out their short positions, or loan or pledge the Class A common stock to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The selling stockholder may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of shares offered by this prospectus, which shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).

The aggregate proceeds to the selling stockholder from the sale of the shares offered by it will be the purchase price of the Class A common stock less discounts or commissions, if any. The selling stockholder reserves the right to accept and, together with their agents from time to time, to reject, in whole or in part, any proposed purchase of Class A common stock to be made

directly or through agents. We will not receive any of the proceeds from this offering.

The selling stockholder also may resell all or a portion of the shares in open market transactions in reliance upon Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, provided that it meets the criteria and conforms to the requirements of that rule.

The selling stockholder and any broker-dealers that act in connection with the sale of securities may be deemed to be "underwriters" within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act in connection with such sales, and any commissions received by such broker-dealers and any profit on the resale of the securities sold by them while acting as principals may be deemed to be underwriting discounts or commissions under the Securities Act. In the event that any selling stockholder is deemed to be an "underwriter" within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act, the selling stockholder will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. We and the selling stockholder may indemnify any broker-dealer that participates in transactions involving the sale of the shares against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. To our knowledge and based upon information we received from the selling stockholder, the selling stockholder is not affiliated with a broker-dealer and, at the time such selling stockholder acquired the shares being registered hereunder, such selling stockholder did not have any agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute such shares. To our knowledge, the selling stockholder did not receive any shares as underwriting compensation.

To the extent required, the shares of our Class A common stock to be sold, the names of the selling stockholders, the respective purchase prices and public offering prices, the names of any agents, dealer or underwriter, any applicable commissions or discounts with respect to a particular offer will be set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement or, if appropriate, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.

To comply with the securities laws of some states, if applicable, the shares may be sold in these jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in some states the shares may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale or an exemption from registration or qualification requirements is available and is complied with.

We have advised the selling stockholder that the anti-manipulation rules of Regulation M under the Exchange Act may apply to sales of shares of our Class A common stock in the market and to the activities of the selling stockholder and its affiliates. These rules may limit the timing of purchases and sales of the shares by the selling stockholder. Regulation M may also restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of the shares of Class A common stock to engage in market-making activities with respect to the shares of Class A common stock. All of the foregoing may affect the marketability of the shares of Class A common stock and the ability of any person or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to the shares of Class A common stock.

We will bear all of the costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the shares of Class A common stock, other than any commissions, discounts or other fees payable to broker-dealers in connection with any sale of shares, which will be borne by the selling stockholder selling such shares of Class A common stock. We have agreed to indemnify the selling stockholder against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act and state securities laws, relating to the registration of the shares offered by this prospectus.

There can be no assurance that the selling stockholder will sell any or all of the shares of Class A common stock registered pursuant to the registration statement, of which this prospectus forms a part.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares of our Class A common stock to be offered for resale by the selling stockholder under this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Winston & Strawn LLP, Chicago, Illinois.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements and schedule included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, as set forth in their report, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our consolidated financial statements and schedule are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

The consolidated financial statements of (i) LivingSocial Korea, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2012 and from the date of inception (July 1, 2011) through December 31, 2011 and (ii) Ticket Monster Inc. for the period from January 1, 2011

through September 16, 2011 and for the period from the date of inception (February 1, 2010) through December 31, 2010 appear in Groupon's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 2, 2014 and have been incorporated by reference herein, in reliance upon Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, the independent auditors of LivingSocial Korea, Inc. and Ticket Monster Inc., given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to "incorporate by reference" into this prospectus the information we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Any statement contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequently filed document which also is incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below (other than any filing or portion thereof that is furnished, rather than filed, under applicable SEC rules):


•	our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC on February 27, 2013;


•	our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2013, August 8, 2013 and November 8, 2013, respectively;


•	our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 29, 2013, March 1, 2013, March 19, 2013, June 18, 2013, August 7, 2013, October 24, 2013, November 7, 2013, November 29, 2013, December 13, 2013 and January 2, 2014;


•	the information specifically incorporated by reference into the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 29, 2013 and as amended by Amendment No. 1 filed with the SEC on May 16, 2013; and


•	the description of our capital stock as set forth in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on November 2, 2011.

All documents that we file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (i) after the date of the initial registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to the effectiveness of such registration statement and (ii) after the date of this prospectus and before all of the securities offered by this prospectus are sold are incorporated by reference in this prospectus from the date of filing of the documents, unless we specifically provide otherwise (other than any filing or thereof that is furnished, rather than filed, under applicable SEC rules). Information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and may replace information previously filed with the SEC.

You may obtain, without charge, a copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents that are not specifically incorporated by reference into those documents, by writing or telephoning us at the following address: Groupon, Inc., 600 West Chicago Avenue, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60654, phone number 312-676-5773. Information contained on or accessible through our website, http://www.groupon.com, is not a prospectus and does not constitute part of this prospectus.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC under the Exchange Act. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our filings with the SEC also are available from the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically. You may obtain a copy of these filings at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following address: Groupon, Inc., 600 West Chicago Avenue, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60654, phone number 312-676-5773.

PART II. INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The following is a statement of the estimated expenses to be incurred by Groupon, Inc. in connection with the registration of the securities under this registration statement, all of which will be borne by Groupon, Inc.



Securities and Exchange Commission Registration Fee	$	20,621
Legal Fees and Expenses		25,000
Accountants’ Fees and Expenses		27,000
Miscellaneous		2,379
Total	$	75,000¹

¹Does not include any FINRA filing fee that may be applicable.

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Delaware General Corporation Law

Groupon is incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. Groupon’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws each provide for the indemnification of Groupon’s directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law. Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation shall have the power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.

As permitted by Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, Groupon’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes provisions that eliminate the personal liability of its directors and officers for monetary damages for breach of their fiduciary duty as directors and officers, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, redemptions or other distributions, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

In addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, Groupon’s amended and restated by-laws provide that Groupon shall indemnify its directors and officers for serving Groupon in those capacities or for serving other business enterprises at Groupon’s request, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that a corporation may indemnify such person if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of Groupon and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful.

Groupon may, in its discretion, indemnify employees and agents in those circumstances where indemnification is permitted by applicable law.

Groupon is required to advance expenses, as incurred, to its directors and officers in connection with defending a proceeding, except that such director or officer shall undertake to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification.

Groupon will not be obligated pursuant to its amended and restated by-laws to indemnify a person with respect to proceedings initiated by that person, except with respect to proceedings authorized by Groupon’s board of directors or brought to enforce a right to indemnification.

The rights conferred in Groupon’s amended and restated by-laws are not exclusive, and Groupon is authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with its directors, officers, employees and agents and to obtain insurance to indemnify such persons.

Groupon may not retroactively amend the by-law provisions to reduce its indemnification obligations to directors, officers, employees and agents.

Indemnification Agreements

Groupon’s policy is to enter into separate indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers that provide the maximum indemnity allowed to directors and executive officers by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law and certain additional procedural protections. Groupon also maintains directors and officers insurance to insure such persons against certain liabilities. These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements entered into between Groupon and its directors and executive officers may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of Groupon’s directors and executive officers for liabilities (including reimbursement of expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act.

Item 16. Exhibits.



Exhibit Number		Description

2.1		Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 6, 2013, among Groupon, Inc., Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., LivingSocial, Inc. and LivingSocial, B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Form 8-K filed on November 7, 2013).

2.2		Amendment No. 1 to Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013, among Groupon, Inc., Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., LivingSocial, Inc. and LivingSocial, B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Form 8-K filed on November 29, 2013).

2.3		Amendment No. 2 to Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2014, among Groupon, Inc., Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., LivingSocial, Inc. and LivingSocial, B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Form 8-K filed on January 2, 2014).

4.1		Form of Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 4.1 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Commission File No. 333-174661) filed on November 1, 2011).

5.1*		Opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP.

23.1*		Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*		Consent of Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, Independent Auditor of LivingSocial Korea, Inc. and Ticket Monster Inc.

23.3		Consent of Winston & Strawn LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1*		Power of Attorney (included on signature page).



*	Filed herewith.

Item 17. Undertakings.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:



(a)	(1)	To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
		(i)	to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
		(ii)	to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective registration statement; and
		(iii)	to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
			provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
	(2)	That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
	(3)	To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
	(4)	That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
		(i)	each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
		(ii)	each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
(b)		The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(h)		Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, on January 3, 2014.



	GROUPON, INC.

	By:	/s/ Jason E. Child
		Jason E. Child
		Chief Financial Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints each of Eric P. Lefkofsky and Jason E. Child his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full powers of substitution and resubstitution, for the undersigned and in the name of the undersigned, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-3, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.



Signature	Title	Date

/s/ Eric P. Lefkofsky	Chief Executive Officer and	January 3, 2014
Eric P. Lefkofsky	Director (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Jason E. Child	Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial	January 3, 2014
Jason E. Child	Officer)

/s/ Brian C. Stevens	Chief Accounting Officer (Principal	January 3, 2014
Brian C. Stevens	Accounting Officer)

/s/ Theodore J. Leonsis	Chairman of the Board	January 3, 2014
Theodore J. Leonsis

/s/ Peter J. Barris	Director	January 3, 2014
Peter J. Barris

/s/ Robert J. Bass	Director	January 3, 2014
Robert J. Bass

/s/ Daniel T. Henry	Director	January 3, 2014
Daniel T. Henry

/s/ Jeffrey Housenbold	Director	January 3, 2014
Jeffrey Housenbold

/s/ Mellody S. Hobson	Director	January 3, 2014
Mellody S. Hobson

/s/ Bradley A. Keywell	Director	January 3, 2014
Bradley A. Keywell

EXHIBIT INDEX



Exhibit Number		Description

2.1		Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 6, 2013, among Groupon, Inc., Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., LivingSocial, Inc. and LivingSocial, B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Form 8-K filed on November 7, 2013).

2.2		Amendment No. 1 to Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 26, 2013, among Groupon, Inc., Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., LivingSocial, Inc. and LivingSocial, B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Form 8-K filed on November 29, 2013).

2.3		Amendment No. 2 to Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2014, among Groupon, Inc., Groupon Trailblazer, Inc., LivingSocial, Inc. and LivingSocial, B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to our Form 8-K filed on January 2, 2014).

4.1		Form of Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 4.1 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (Commission File No. 333-174661) filed on November 1, 2011).

5.1*		Opinion of Winston & Strawn LLP.

23.1*		Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*		Consent of Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, Independent Auditor of LivingSocial Korea, Inc. and Ticket Monster Inc.

23.3		Consent of Winston & Strawn LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1*		Power of Attorney (included on signature page).

_____________________



*	Filed herewith.