Groupon may raise up to $950 mil in financing

SAN FRANCISO — Groupon's board has authorized the local-coupon site to raise up to $950 million in funding, a recent Delaware regulatory filing says.

Google Inc. reportedly tried to buy the Chicago company for between $5 billion and $6 billion but was rejected in early December.

In a Dec. 17 amended certificate of incorporation, which was first reported Tuesday by venture capital data provider VC Experts, Groupon said it may issue up to 30 million Series G Preferred Shares at a price of $31.59 each.

Groupon's last round of funding — $135 million — came in April from Mail.ru Group, formerly Digital Sky Technologies.

VC Experts estimates that if Groupon raises the full $950 million the company would be worth about $6.4 billion total.

A Groupon spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.