Coupons.com acquires UK/Euro-based Couponstar

The deal gives Coupons.com a big boost across the pond

Fresh off its massive $200 million funding round (which was then immediately followed with a $30 million funding round), Coupons.com announced Wednesday that it has acquired the remaining 50% ownership of its joint UK venture Couponstar.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the two companies said that Couponstar will be rebranded in the UK and Europe as Coupons.com.

Founded in 2002—just four years after Coupons.com—Couponstar has risen in the digital coupon ranks in the UK and Europe, where some 57% of British shoppers say they’ve printed a coupon from the Internet for use at a grocery store.

The acquisition falls in line with Coupons.com’s previously stated plans to use the funding from its last round to build up its international presence.   

“Acquiring Couponstar in its entirety gives us a good starting platform for building a global brand,” CEO Steven Boal tells me.  “Coupons.com has been impressed with Couponstar’s innovation and ability to quickly and securely adapt coupon technology to the local UK, European, and Australian markets. In addition, the company has a strong client base with a track record of excellent client service that is highly complementary to that of Coupons.com.”

Couponstar’s roughly 20 full-time employees will join Coupons.com and Couponstar’s co-founder and Managing Director Jared Keen will remain on board as Managing Director of Europe for Coupons.com.

“We are following an aggressive growth strategy and are expected to expand our full time staff from 288 employees in June to more than 450 by the end of the year, a growth of over 50% during the six-month period,” said Boal.

Last week, Coupons.com announced that it had raised $30 million from Greylock Partners in a secondary market transaction—meaning Greylock didn’t actually buy shares directly from Coupons.com but bought them from an outside shareholder instead.  The investment marked the first time Coupons.com has ever raised VC funds in its 13-year history.

Coupons.com distributed more than 332 billion coupons in 2010 and has become the 39^th most trafficked website in the United States—up from 43^rd back in June, when it raised its $200 million round.  Its network includes retailers that total 46,000 locations throughout the U.S.

The company is currently on track to make $100 million in revenue this year, which is up from $60 million last year and $40 million the year before that.  

Image source: eco-officegals.com