Groupon has started Groupons in India, Israel and South Africa after acquiring quickly growing deal sites SoSasta, Grouper and Twangoo in each of the three countries, respectively.
The terms of the acquisitions were kept confidential.
SoSasta – just three months after it was started – has daily deals in 11 cities in India. Grouper is the first and biggest deal site in Israel. It has been providing deals for the Tel Aviv region since March of last year. And Twangoo offers deals to the most cities of any deal site in nation of South Africa.
According to a press release, each of the sites will get the Groupon brand name and change to a common site design. The deals will be written in each of the nation’s primary languages: English in India and South Africa, and Hebrew in Israel.
There are great opportunities for growth in each of the three countries, said Groupon.
“Collective buying is in its infancy in India, Israel and South Africa and we see strong potential,” Rob Solomon, president and chief operating officer of Groupon, said in a company statement. “Groupon is shaping the way local merchants market themselves in every corner of the world.”
Groupon negotiates with businesses and then provides discounts to its subscribers through daily e-mails.
Deals go into effect when a minimum number of consumers take part – leading Groupon subscribers to share the promotions with relatives and friends, the company explains.
Groupon has more than 50 million subscribers in 40 countries.
Earlier, Groupon acquired daily deal sites in East and Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, Russia and Japan, according to Business Insider.
In related company news, TechZone360 reports that Yahoo recently told Groupon it is willing to spend between $3 billion and $4 billion to acquire the e-commerce coupon site, according to a news report from Business Insider.
Forbes Magazine has called Groupon "the fastest-growing company in Web history."
Ed Silverstein is a TechZone360 contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Jaclyn Allard