LivingSocial Spends $5M On Controlling Stake In Social Shopping Site JumpOnIt

Social commerce startup LivingSocial is expanding to Australia, acquiring a majority stake in the existing leading social shopping site, Jump On It, rather than competing with them head-on. The agreement involves an investment of $5 million by the Washington, DC-based Groupon rival, and Jump On It will be folded into LivingSocial’s branded Daily Deals.

Together with LivingSocial, Jump On It says it will now reach more than 1.2 million Australians via email and Facebook – where it has attracted over 550,000 ‘fans’ – every day.

This recent expansion means LivingSocial is now operational in most English-speaking countries, including Australia, the U.S., Canada, UK and Ireland.

The company recently acquired social adventure company Urban Escapes, enabling LivingSocial to offer its subscribers trips that promote a “fun and active lifestyle and a chance to escape the day-to-day rat race”.

LivingSocial says it currently boasts 10 million subscribers across more than 100 markets worldwide, earning them $1 million a day, and adds that they project to book more than $500 million in revenue in 2011.

The startup has raised just south of $50 million to date, putting it in an excellent position to snap up smaller niche players to grow in other ways than organically and by launching in new cities and countries worldwide.