Groupon has been hunting a deals in India (read our exclusive coverage : Groupon Hunting Deal(s) in India–Launch Imminent ) and it seems, Kolkata based SoSasta.com is their first acquisition in India (Ananya Bubna is the Managing Director of India office, as per his LinkedIn profile).
SoSasta was launched in October of 2010 and as I spoke to some of the other group buying companies, this deal was in the works for a while.
SoSasta doesn’t really have a traffic comparable to its counterparts, i.e. Snapdeal, Taggle etc and this deal probably gives Groupon just a theoretical presence in a high-growth market, i.e. India.
Unlike US and other markets, the Groupon way of selling, i.e. telephonic sales do not work in India and expect Groupon to pivot its operational model, if they are really in the game.
What’s your take? Is this a pre-IPO strategy of Groupon to expand in emerging markets, maybe namesake to start off?
As of now, there is no confirmation from Groupon on this deal.
Update: Groupon has confirmed the deal.
Recommended Analysis: Business Model of Group Buying sites in India
Recommended Story : Groupon Story – WordPress Blog to Billion Dollar Company
