Latest Rumor: Google to Buy Groupon for $5.3B

Google is thiiiis close to a deal to buy Groupon for a whopping $5 billion to $6 billion, according to multiple reports. Google’s current offer is $5.3 billion, sources tell All Things Digital, but according to the New York Times the pricetag could stretch as high as $6 billion. Both reports expect the deal to be done soon—possibly tomorrow—but both also caution that it could still fall apart.

Google would be paying nearly twice what it paid for DoubleClick, making this by far its biggest acquisition ever. “It would be worth every overpriced penny,” argues Ben Parr at Mashable. “This is about taking Google’s ad platform to the next level,” with Groupon’s unparalleled local business connections. But All Things Digital notes that the purchase “should freak out regulators worldwide and could be Google’s own version of a jobs plan for antitrust lawyers.” (More Google stories.)