LivingSocial is busily expanding its daily deal footprint both in the U.S. and abroad. According to a new SEC filing, LivingSocial issued $143 million in stock as part of a “business combination transaction, such as a merger, acquisition or exchange offer.”
While the filing does not specify the acquisition or acquisitions in question, the most likely candidate is LivingSocial’s acquisition of TicketMonster in Korea, which was agreed to in August. TicketMonster is a daily deals site with 2 million members in Korea and Malaysia. It employs 600 people, who now work for LivingSocial.
The $143 million could also include Turkish daily deals site Grupfoni, which happened around the same time. Update: I’ve confirmed the entire amount is for TicketMonster and the Grupfoni acquisition has not yet closed.
LivingSocial itself raised $400 million last April and was considering an IPO filing, which may have been pulled due to market conditions (and the investor backlash competitor Groupon is facing).
Update 2: The full price was $350 million in cash and stock.
LivingSocial is the social commerce leader behind LivingSocial Deals, a group buying program that invites people and their friends to save up to 90 percent each day at their favorite restaurants, spas, sporting events, hotels and other local attractions in major cities. LivingSocial has an extensive user base of more than 85 million, and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Ticket Monster Inc. operates web-based platform for buying and selling of products and services online. The company provides offers online discount offers. Ticket Monster Inc. was founded in 2010 and is based in Seoul, South Korea.
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