Groupon postpones its $750m float as market turmoil mounts
DISCOUNTING website Groupon has put back its planned flotation amid more US market turmoil and questions from regulators.
The $750m (£457m) initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, expected later this month, has been postponed by at least a fortnight as Groupon waits for markets to calm and tackles questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Last night Wall Street closed down for the third consecutive day. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly one per cent to 11,139.30. Recession fears also loomed over a collapse in European equities, with the FTSEurofirst 300 sinking to its lowest close in over two years.
The index dropped 0.7 per cent during the day’s trading, to end the session unofficially at 904.07 points. It has lost over 19 per cent so far this year amid the economic turmoil.
Banks exposed to the Eurozone debt crisis took yet another hammering, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banking Index down 2.1 per cent, sinking to a fresh 29-month low.
French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale shed 5.2 and 6.5 per cent respectively.
The ongoing troubles, combined with the news that Swiss franc has been pegged to the euro, saw gold soar to a new record high yesterday – although it then retreated two per cent as investors cashed in on profits.
The safe haven touched $1,923 an ounce but sank back below $1,875 later in the day.