If you can't join 'em, beat 'em? More than a month after merger talks between Groupon and Google reportedly dissolved, the search giant is now prepping its own deals site, dubbed Google Offers, according to Mashable.
One of the blog's sources sent it a fact sheet about Google Offers, which appears to be quite similar to daily deals sites Groupon and LivingSocial. "Google Offers is a new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email," according to the fact sheet.
Google Offers will likely offer daily deals - pay $25 for $50 worth of food at a nearby restaurant, for example - that are activated once enough people buy into the offer. Mashable said the service will run via Google Checkout and include social-networking options via Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, and e-mail.
"Google is communicating with small businesses to enlist their support and participation in a test of a pre-paid offers/vouchers program," Google said in a statement. "This initiative is part of an ongoing effort at Google to make new products, such as the recent Offer Ads beta, that connect businesses with customers in new ways. We do not have more details to share at this time, but will keep you posted."
Late last year, reports emerged that Google was in talks to buy Groupon - first for about $2.5 billion, and later for more than $5 billion. By early December, however, talks between Google and Groupon reportedly crumbled.
Groupon isn't exactly hurting for cash. Last week, it completed a $950 million round of financing, which it will use for international expansion, technology upgrades, and liquidity for employees and early investors. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures.
Rival LivingSocial, meanwhile, just completed one of its more successful offers; a $20 Amazon gift card for $10 deal was purchased by 1.4 million customers. That comes about a month after Amazon confirmed that it made a $175 million investment in LivingSocial.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 10:30am Eastern with comment from Google.