Early Investors of Groupon Hit the Bid – $GRPN

“As you may recall, Groupon did a highly unusual stock deal about 10 months before its November 2011 IPO.

The company allowed its early investors to cash out big, selling $946 million-worth of stock to a host of new investors who were eager to get in on one of the fastest-growing companies in history.

This deal was a bonanza for early Groupon insiders and investors, including Chairman Eric Lefkovsky, who banked $318 million (to go with an earlier $67 million cash-out) and Andrew Mason, who took out a total of $31 million in that round and a prior round.

Importantly, the investors who bought this pre-IPO round weren’t idiots. Rather, they were a who’s who of smart money.

That pre-IPO cash-out was done at a split-adjusted share price of $7.90. ”

Full article