Groupon Buys SideTour To Boost Local Activities (GRPN)

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Groupon'sGRPN
ongoing shopping spree continues with the purchase of
SideTour
, a site that invites consumers to "do something memorable." Designed to help users find unique things to do (including "amazing" tours and "unforgettable" experiences) within their local cities, SideTour was founded by Vipin Goyal, Mark Webster and Minesh Mistry. Born in New York City in June 2011, SideTour
raised $1.5 million
just a few months after it debuted. The company received an additional
$2.5 million
in March 2013. "The addition of SideTour's curated local experiences furthers our vision of Groupon as the go-to place for consumers to find just about anything, anywhere, anytime," GrouponLive General Manager Greg Rudin said in a
company release
. "By offering these highly personalized activities, tours and memorable things to do through Groupon, we can deliver even more fun ways for our customers to explore and discover the best local experiences." Goyal, who also serves as SideTour's CEO, concurred with Rudin's statement. "We're thrilled with the opportunity to showcase our fantastic events to a huge audience with a demonstrated appetite for great local experiences," said Goyal, who was also quoted in the company release. "Groupon will extend our ability to find compelling and unique local experts and give them a platform to reach even more customers."
Related:Groupon Doesn't Want To Be Amazon Or Wal-Mart
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the aforementioned investments (which total $4 million) could provide a clue as to how much Groupon may have paid. Earlier this week, Groupon
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acquired
Blink, a last-minute travel app that is currently available in eight European countries. At the time of the acquisition, Groupon said that it would use the app to
further expand
its travel business and maintain its position as the go-to destination for great deals. Disclosure:
At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ
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Posted In: NewsM&ATechBlinkGreg RudinGrouponMark WebsterMinesh MistrySideTourVipin Goyal
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