Online coupon site Groupon expands to Europe via acquisition of Citydeal

Coupon site Groupon expands to Europe

CHICAGO — Online coupon provider Groupon said Monday that is acquiring Citydeal in a move to expand its reach beyond North America into Europe.

Launched in 2008, Groupon, whose name combines “group” and “coupon,” offers daily deals on products and services in the U.S. and Canada, such as tailored shirts, meals at restaurants and paintball games. A certain number of people in a given city must sign up for the deal to go through. Groupon makes money by taking a percentage of each “groupon” it sells.

Now with the purchase of Citydeal, which follows a similar model, it has expanded its reach to over 140 cities in 18 countries.

Citydeal was founded in November 2009 by a group that included the founders of eBay Europe. The site ran its inaugural deal in Berlin in January of this year, and has since opened offices in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. It currently employs more than 600 people.

Citydeal will transition to the Groupon brand name and site design in the coming months.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.