On Friday, Groupon announced that it had revised its earnings report, which was originally released in February. This has drawn all kinds of hell to the company in the few days since.
Lawyers almost immediately began looking for complaints from shareholders. Now, one has officially been filed. PaidContent, which shares the following legal document reports that a man from Groupon’s hometown of Chicago has filed a suit.
The suit is class action, and claims to represent “all others similarly situated” – those that “purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Groupon between November 4, 2011 and March 30, 2012,” and “who acquired shares of Groupon commons stock pursuant or traceable to the company’s false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectus issued in connection with its November 4, 2011 initial public offering.”
The suit allegs that Groupon issued false and misleading statements regarding tis business practices and financial results, which it says were overstated in violation of GAAP. It says Groupon’s business was not growing to the extent represented and was not nearly as resistant to competition as suggested.
That’s just a sample. You can read the document above for the whole thing.
Meanwhile, the SEC is getting involved. It’s been reported that a preliminary probe has begun, though a formal investigation has yet to launch.