Everyone in Japan’s startup scene has been guessing which of the about 20 local clones Chicago-based Groupon would buy for about 3 months now. And today it came to light that the Americans have chosen to go for Qpod, which offered its first daily deal on May 28.

And they are not losing time with the rebranding of the service either. As you can see above, the site already received a new logo.

According to The Nikkei (Japan’s biggest business newspaper), Groupon will acquire a majority stake in the Tokyo-based startup for $10 million. Qpod is reportedly ready to issue shares to Groupon via a private placement by the end of this week.

Qpod currently has around 60 employees and around 20 competitors on the Japanese market. The company has been set up by direct sales company PakuReserve and VC firm Infinity Venture Partners.

My personal guess is that in Asia, Groupon will buy TicketMonster, a Korean clone that currently generates $93,000 daily, next. In China, Groupon has hundreds of clones.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is a German based in Tokyo. Like us, he is passionate about introducing Japanese IT to the rest of the world. Full-time, Serkan works as an independent web industry consultant for hedge funds, venture capital companies and start-ups worldwide. He is also a writer for mega tech blog network TechCrunch, covering Japan-related technology and web trends. This is Serkan's website. Follow Serkan on Twitter here.

Latest posts by Serkan Toto (see all)

• The Nikkei: KDDI To Start Offering The iPad Mini From November - October 4, 2012
• For $12.8 Million: Yahoo Japan Acquires Decopic Creator Community Factory - September 11, 2012
• Nico Nico Douga Hits 28 Million Users, Generates US$46 Million In Sales Last Quarter - August 11, 2012
• SoftBank Starts Using The 900MHz “Platinum Band” - July 26, 2012
• Rakuten Starts Featuring Pinterest On Its Japanese Marketplace And Other Properties - July 5, 2012

Tags: Japan // 3 Comments »