April 19th, 2011 Groupon Acquisition of Pelago Makes it Stronger
After acquiring Pelago, the parent company of Whrrl, Groupon will now be able to offer location-based check-in services. Whrrl, the application acquired by Groupon, helps its users to discover stores and businesses in the real world, and it also facilitates location-based advertising for the users.
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason and his counterpart in Pelago are very happy with the deal and feel that Groupon and Pelago are perfect fits owing to their different areas of expertise. Groupon CEO explained the rationale behind the acquisition in a blog post, "Their obsession with real-world serendipitous discovery, or 'Anti-Search,' is core to Groupon's mission… It's about discovering what you didn't know, right in your backyard."
The deal is another feather in the Groupon cap, and it will help the company dominate the check-ins market and create new local marketing possibilities for brands.