Groupon To Sell Ticket Monster Stake To KKR, Anchor Equity For $360 Mln

Discount voucher company Groupon Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell a controlling 46% stake in South Korean e-commerce site Ticket Monster to KKR & Co. and Anchor Equity Partners for $360 million. The deal, which values Ticket Monster at $782 million, is expected to close in the second quarter. Groupon expects to book a gain of $195 million to $205 million on the deal, which will be used for general corporate purposes and share buybacks. The board approved a new buyback program of $300 million. The company updated its outlook for the first quarter, forecasting revenue of $720 million to $770 million, citing the strong dollar and stake sale. The current FactSet consensus is for revenue of $822 million. Shares are down about 13% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 is up 1.8%.