Groupon set to start IPO roadshow next week?

The pioneering daily deal site Groupon is set to begin its IPO road show next week, according to a report by AllThingsD, citing multiple sources close to the situation.

Chicago-based Groupon filed to go public in June, but the process has been delayed because of several issues, including controversial accounting, which has led the company to amend its S-1 filing several times.

Groupon has been a deal powerhouse whose success has led to the creation of hundreds of similar startups. But its costs are high compared to the revenue it brings in. In the last quarter, Groupon lost $102.7 million on revenues of $878 million.

There has been much skepticism of Groupon's promise--both because of its financials and because of the volatile stock market.

Groupon, which was expected to go public in September, has also come under increased regulatory scrutiny lately. The Securities and Exchange Commission forced the daily deals provider to revise its filing papers after finding that the company mistakenly reported higher revenue than it should have. Groupon previously reported that it generated $713.4 million in revenue in 2010, but the SEC said that the figure should be $312.9 million.

Complicating Groupon's situation was the departure of its chief operating officer, Margo Georgiadis, who left the company after only five months in the position to return to Google. The previous COO left after only two months on the job.

IPO analysts estimate Groupon might be valued at between $5 billion and $10 billion when the company finally offers its shares on the open market. That's in contrast to the $20 billion and $25 billion that many believed the company was worth when it filed its IPO papers in June.