Comcast-Backed Firm Invests in Groupon

Photo | Jeff Fusco

Honestly, we’d long thought Groupon had passed from being an exciting new thing to a stale joke about spending too much money to buy a coupon for a product or experience you’ll never end up using. But apparently Groupon’s still a thing.

We know this because this week a new company called Atairos announced it’s making a $250 million investment in Groupon. Why this matters in Philadelphia: Atairos was created by former Comcast CFO Michael J. Angelakis — and Comcast has a 10-year agreement to be the Atairos’ sole outside investor.

So the Groupon investment is a pretty big deal for Comcast. But why? Groupon’s in the advertising business and so is Comcast, in its local cable markets. Cross-pollination possibilities abound.

“The potential in combining Groupon’s local expertise with Comcast’s vast subscriber and advertiser network is something we look forward to closely exploring together,” Neil Smit, Comcast Cable’s CEO, said in a statement.

The announcement said Groupon will use the investment dollars for “general corporate purposes, including the repurchase of stock.”