Groupon to go public

A popular online coupon website recently announced plans to go public, with an estimated business valuation of $750 million. The New York Times reports that Groupon filed plans to raise new capital after growing at an extremely rapid pace since its inception in 2008. The company recorded revenue of $713 million in 2010 and has already made $644.7 million in the first quarter of 2011. The firm boasts 83 million subscribers in more than 40 countries, piquing interest of many investors. In a letter to possible investors obtained by the newspaper, Andrew Mason, Groupon's chief executive, said that people's excitement over the future earnings needed to be kept in check. "In the past, we've made investments in growth that turned a healthy, forecasted quarterly profit into a sizable loss," Mason said in a statement. "When we see opportunities to invest in long-term growth, expect that we will pursue them regardless of certain short-term consequences." Other technology firms have been grabbing headlines after going public. Yandex N.V., recently went public with a $1.3 billion IPO, the second largest since Google's debut in 2004.