It's a deal: Groupon buys Ideeli for $43M

While competitor LivingSocial navigates its way through a major leadership turnover, Groupon is strengthening its assets.

The Chicago-based daily deal site is adding a new arm of flash sales to its repertoire with the acquisition of Ideeli.

Groupon has advertised promotions on discounted clothing, accessories, and other sartorial deals previously, but the addition of Ideeli gives the company a much more substantial footing for competing with the likes of Gilt and Amazon-owned MyHabit.

In Monday's announcement, Groupon leadership also suggested that Ideeli's mobile user base is also a major incentive on its part.

Ideeli offers flash sales on men's and women's clothing, shoes, and accessories, as well as home decor. The brand names are a little less high brow than Gilt, but offer much more mass market opportunity.

But much like MyHabit, Groupon is letting Ideeli maintain its separate Web site and brand, as well as its headquarters in New York.

With the deal closing today, Groupon paid $43 million in cash.

Naturally, there is a special sale to commemorate the merger with Ideeli, offering 20 percent off purchases through tomorrow, January 14.

This story originally appeared as "Groupon eyes flash fashion market with Ideeli buy" on ZDNet.