Months after Groupon filed for a $750 million initial public offering, the daily deals pioneer finally went public on Friday, reportedly raising $700 million to value the company at $12.7 billion.
This makes the Chicago startup the biggest tech IPO since Google went public in 2004.
Groupon reportedly expanded the size of its its IPO to 35 million shares for $20 a piece, above the expected range of $16-18, after investor demand skyrocketed earlier this week.
Despite the showy entrance, Wall Street appeared skeptical of Groupon's ability to generate long-term profit.
"This stock is very much like a lottery ticket," Espen Robak, president of Pluris Valuation Advisors, told the Washington Post. "You could argue it's a very expensive lottery ticket."
"If I were running a big fund, I'd have placed a huge order for Groupon, too. And then I'd flip immediately," tweeted Business Insider's Henry Blodget, referring to reports that Groupon stopped taking orders from investors a day early because they ran out.
This year Groupon has faced stiff competition with the emergence of Google Offers and LivingSocial, as well as dozens of smaller copycats. Earlier this week, Gilt City acquired BuyWithMe.
But Groupon polished its site by adding a loyalty program for repeat users, Groupon Rewards, and is testing high-end deals with Groupon Reserve. It also quietly added electronics to its arsenal with "Groupon Goods," which offers discounts on major electronics (disclosure: PCMag has a sister site called TechSaver that offers electronics deals, too) and launched Groupon Getaways and Groupon Live.
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason confirmed plans for an IPO back in May, months after rejecting a rumored buyout offer from Google for $6 billion. But after several false starts, Groupon's IPO appeared dead on arrival after it was forced to restate revenue for the first six months of the year at $688 million, down from $1.5 billion, due to controversial accounting. Margo Georgiadis, its chief operating officer, also left the company to return to Google, her former employer.