Groupon announced that it has secured a new $250 million investment from independent private company Atairos, which supports growth-oriented businesses. Michael Angelakis, Chairman and CEO of Atairos, will also join Groupon’s Board of Directors.
Atairos laucnhed earlier this year with $4 billion in committed capital. It’s led by Angelakis, who is the former Vice Chairman and CFO of Comcast.
“We are excited to be partnering with Groupon, the undisputed global leader in hyper-local commerce with nearly 50 million active customers,” he said. “Since creating the market in 2008, Groupon has redefined local commerce by increasing consumer buying power and changing the way businesses attract customers using modern mobile technology. We look forward to working closely with Groupon’s Board and management team as they pursue their strategic growth objectives.”
Groupon CEO Rich Williams said, “Our partnership with Atairos will help accelerate our transformation while better positioning us to execute on our strategy and mission to build the daily habit in local commerce — which we continued to make progress on in the first quarter. I am extremely pleased that a respected, long-term oriented partner like Atairos shares our view about the vast opportunity ahead for Groupon.”
“The reputation, strategic insights and operational acumen of Michael and his team will be a welcome addition to our company,” added Groupon Chairman and co-founder Eric Lefkofsky. “Michael joins a talented and dedicated Board, and brings a valuable perspective as we continue to scale our local business.”
Comcast will actually now work with Groupon and “implement potential strategic partnership opportunities.” The plan is to use Groupon’s local expertise with Comcast’s subscriber and advertiser network, though the details are yet to be announced.
Groupon will use the investment for “general corporate purposes” including stock repurchasing and a $200 million increase to its existing share repurchase program, which has been extended through April 2018.
Groupon announced in late February that it had sold its billionth Groupon and released this infographic breaking down some stats:
Last month, the company announced new merchant tools including a new tablet app. More on these here.
Images via Groupon