Rumor: Groupon Entering China in Tencent JV
DoNews, 1/14/11
A source who interviewed with group-buying site Groupon said today that a German Groupon employee had, during the course of describing the company and the job, said that his China-located company was a joint venture between Groupon and Shenzhen-based internet company Tencent (0700.HK) in which both companies held a 50% stake - but the employee did not say what name the company was registered under, or give any details of company capital. The source said that during the interview, Groupon encouraged him to provide his requirements for the job, saying that the company would reply in two days and that "progress in China will be extremely rapid." The Groupon employee reportedly said that the new site could launch within the next two weeks, with the goal of becoming China's top group-buying website by May.
Groupon has reportedly begun recruiting in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen - through local SNS Renmai, LinkedIn, and other online channels, as well as through more than 10 domestic head-hunting agencies.
Tencent declined to make any official comment on the rumor.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Rumor: Groupon Recruiting China Management" MD 1/07/11 issue.
Keywords: HR Internet Tencent JV 0700.HK Groupon e-commerce group buying
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