Groupon, which has lost 99.4% of its value since its IPO, names a new CEO... based in Czech Republic

News Summary

  • The Chicago-based company, which today has a market cap of just $103 million (a drop of 99.4% from its public market debut), has appointed Dusan Senkypl, a current board member, as interim CEO.
  • But the new CEO believes that there is still an opportunity to fix what isn’t working.“I have a deep appreciation for the dedication that has gone into building this company and am honored to guide Groupon through its transformation and turnaround,” Senkypl said in a statement.
  • A dozen years ago, Groupon shot to fame popularizing the online group buying format, confidently rejecting a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google and instead going public with a $17.8 billion market cap.
  • “With unique local inventory, over 14 million active local customers and millions of visitor sessions per month, Groupon has valuable assets capable of fueling significant growth when paired with operational excellence.
  • Senkypl will run the company… out of the Czech Republic.His appointment is effective immediately, the company said in a statement today.He replaces Kedar Deshpande, who had been Groupon’s CEO for just 15 months.
  • Even early on, and despite the predictions of it being a threat to Google and Amazon, others debated whether it could rightly be considered a “tech” company.
A dozen years ago, Groupon shot to fame popularizing the online group buying format, confidently rejecting a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google and instead going public with a $17.8 billion mar [+4430 chars]