By YOUNG MONEY Staff
1 November 2011

Groupon's major upcoming initial public offering is being used as a measure of investor interest, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As the market attempts to recover from the summer doldrums that saw both the U.S. and Europe suffer from major debt crises, Groupon represents the most promising IPO remaining in the year.

Major concerns about Groupon's financial reports and its long-term prospects have turned many analysts off the company, but most expect the deal to easily reach its goals as investors scramble for assets in a down market.

"This has been one of the more-controversial names we've seen," Paul Bard, a director of research at Renaissance Capital, told the Journal. "But there's a high probability that the deal not only gets done, but that it trades reasonably well afterward."

Groupon has collected more than a dozen underwriters, all of which are waiting on the Groupon IPO before going forward with smaller name companies.

Nevertheless, Bloomberg reports that Groupon is considering raising the price for its IPO, currently slated between $16 and $18 per share, though to what extent is uncertain.