Groupon’s experimental spirit is still alive and kicking, it seems. The company has a lengthy history of acquiring businesses, apps and other miscellaneous entities, and the tradition has been continuing in the last week or so: first by snatching up Madrid-based hotel-booking service Blink Booking and now by buying SideTour, a company that lets people “find... amazing tours and unforgettable experiences to help you explore your city in a new way.”
According to TechCrunch, Groupon says that SideTour “will continue to operate as a separate entity ‘for some time’ as its activity listings start to get distributed via Groupon’s email, web and mobile channels.”
A similar strategy holds true of the Blink assimilation — it will be renamed “Blink by Groupon,” but operate separately.
“The combination of a fantastic mobile app, same-day inventory management for properties and a team that is obsessed with mobile and last-minute travel will help us further expand our travel business as the go-to destination for great deals on great places to stay," Aaron Cooper, senior vice-president of Groupon Getaways, said in a statement.
Coupled with the fact that research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus have upgraded Groupon stock rating to “buy,” it’s safe to say that Groupon’s strategy has been gelling and the result is more stability for the company. If you need more proof: Its stock is at a new 52-week high Thursday, and as of press time is at $12.55.
So, hey, how about that?
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as IFC’s comedy, film, and TV blogger, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City and an adjunct professor in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
