Groupon CEO Andrew Mason Replaced
By: Robert Burke
Updated: February 28, 2013
ABCNews.com
By: ANDREW MASON
Online coupon site Groupon, after a series of losses and missteps, said today that it is replacing CEO Andrew Mason.
Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis have been appointed to the newly created Office of the Chief Executive, effective immediately, replacing Mason, the company said in a statement.
Lefkofsky and Leonsis will serve in this role on an interim basis while the board searches for a new CEO.
Groupon shares plunged 24 percent to $4.53 today in New York after it said yesterday that first-quarter revenue will be just $560 million to $610 million, less than analyst forecasts of $647 million.
Demand for online discounts has waned as competitors flooded the market. Mason tried to lessen the company's reliance on coupons, but the firm's first year as a public company has been a disaster with the shares down three-quarters from the IPO price of $20.50.
The fourth-quarter net loss widened to $81.1 million.
