Atairos, the new $4 billion investment fund controlled by Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and overseen by the MSO's former CFO Michael Angelakis, has announced that it will put $250 million into Groupon.
According to Bloomberg, Comcast will use the investment to explore local advertising opportunities. Groupon, meanwhile, will use the proceeds to repurchase its shares, which rose 16 percent Monday
"Groupon is an established leader in connecting customers with local business," Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit said in a statement provided to Bloomberg and several other publications. "The potential in combing Groupon's local expertise with Comcast's vast subscriber and advertiser network is something we look forward to closely exploring together."
The investment represents Philadelphia-based Comcast's latest attempt to play in Silicon Valley. In March, the company revealed plans to partner with Amazon to sell cable services. And over the last month, the MSO has announced a range of splashy hires from companies including Hewlett-Packard and Intel.
As Bloomberg noted, Comcast's local advertising division, Comcast Spotlight, could use a little Silicon Valley help, having seen a 3 percent decline in revenue last year to $2.3 billion.
As for Angelakis, he left Comcast a year ago to run the investment company, which is fueled largely by Comcast capital.
For more:
- read this Bloomberg story
- read this Philadelphia Inquirer story
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