WASHINGTON, DC – The group local buying space just keeps getting hotter – at least for major players. LivingSocial, the DC based company probably second only to Chicago’s Groupon, is talking to investors about raising $500 million on a $2 billion valuation, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
LivingSocial now offers it daily deals in more than 200 markets and putting people on the ground in most is part of what costs so much money.
The company raised $175 million from Amazon three months ago, following a $950 million raise by Groupon.
In December, LivingSocial said it brings in about $1 million a day.
Although both LivingSocial and Groupon are well-financed and have a huge lead in creating national organizations, both face competition from smaller players, often operating in just a handful of markets. We recently reported on Twongo, one such competitor based in the Research Triangle, which operates in several North Carolina and Canadian markets.
Sooner or later, we expect to see considerable consolidation in the space.
The company did hit a bit of a glitch with a 50-percent off Amazon coupon deal that drew such a large response that it angered some users due to delays in processing, dealing with attempts to cash in more than one coupon, and social media heat on its Facebook page.
See also:
www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/03/dc-based-livingsocial-looks-for-innovation-edge-in-infoether-acquisition/
www.techjournalsouth.com/2010/12/amazon-invests-175m-in-dc-based-livingsocial-lightspeed-adds-8m/
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Related Stories:
- LivingSocial adds $1.6M to war chest as group buying space remains hot
- Local deals firm LivingSocial rings up $2.9M in additional equity
- LivingSocial gained 80 percent boost from Amazon deal, but some had problems
- Local deals firm LivingSocial raises $400M, reports says
- DC-based LivingSocial looks for innovation edge in InfoEther acquisition
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Tags: Amazon coupon, group local buying, Groupon, LIvingSocial, Twongo, venture capital
The sooner they are as big as groupon the better it will be for both consumers and businesses that wish to use coupons as an advertising tool.