Groupon’s Biggest Deal Could Transform Chicago's Tech Start-Ups

Chicago has been home to far bigger transactions than the one being discussed between Google and Groupon. But few, if any, have had as much riding on it for the city as this $6 billion deal does.

Groupon, a Chicago company coveted for its ability to mobilize millions of people online to buy local products, offers steep daily discounts to consumers on an array of products and services. If the Google-Groupon deal is completed, Groupon will be one of the country’s biggest start-up success stories and one likely to spur a frenzy of new investment in Internet-based companies, including more in sometimes-overlooked Chicago. For Google, the deal would be its biggest purchase, more than tripling what it paid for YouTube in 2006 and far richer than the $3.1 billion it spent in 2007 for DoubleClick, an online-advertising company. For Chicago, the deal would represent something bigger than the price tag, which has been the buzz of venture capitalists, technology entrepreneurs and Wall Street investors for several weeks. The deal, tech executives say, could represent a game-changing moment for Chicago’s economy — a chance for the city to establish itself as a major tech hub that can grow talent and keep it here.