Clip This: Groupon Valued at $1.35 Billion Dollars

Last December we filled you in on Groupon, the site that offers deals on restaurants, shopping and activities in several US cities. While we definitely found a few people – consumers and business owners alike, who thought Groupons offered great deals, we didn’t know that a $30 million funding round was only the tip of the iceberg for how highly investors valued the site.

Don’t look for this in your daily announcement email from the site, but depending on which “inside source” you listen to, Groupon is raising or has raised an additional $130 million at a valuation of $1.35 billion. That’s right, billion with a “B”. Just think of how many skydiving lessons or wine and cupcake combos that could get you.

According to Techcrunch, the company doesn’t really need the money. They’re doing just fine on the $1 million per week profit {TechCrunch} they’re making. So why the investment if operating costs are well covered? As much as we’d like to see it directed towards Groupöupon, it’s supposedly to buy out employees in advance of an IPO.

What makes that even more eye popping is the fact that Groupon hasn’t even hit their second anniversary. The company launched in November 2008, and is already anticipating revenue of $350 million for 2010. That even puts Gilt Groupe, another company who’s enjoyed a meteoric rise, to shame. The other G shopping site last raised a $40 million round at a valuation of $400 million. Certainly nothing we’d turn down [ed note: really, if you have a few million you’d like to invest, please see the contact link at the bottom of this page], and Gilt’s been extremely successful with wealthy shoppers online, but that doesn’t put them at 1/3rd of what Groupon is apparently going for.

Is it too early to request a Groupon for Groupon stock?