Web giant 'prepares $6bn bid' for e-vouchers company Groupon

Google is believed to be preparing a multibillion-dollar bid for the online voucher company Groupon, in what would be its largest acquisition.

The deal, which could be worth as much as $6bn (£4bn), would outstrip its acquisition of the online advertising group, DoubleClick, for $3.2bn in 2008. Groupon, which was founded in 2008, is privately owned but its management team has announced that it is profitable.

The company has raised almost $170m in venture capital and among its backers are Digital Sky, whose investments include Zynga and Facebook.

Google declined to comment on the reports from the website All Things Digital, which said the deal could be finalised as early as this week.