Groupon is certainly a successful startup. With $50 million a month in revenues already, the discount coupon company’s value is set at $1 billion at least, and plenty of big players have been eying it. Yahoo reportedly offered $2-3 billion for it, and now Google may be making its own bid, though, as usual, the company responded with, “We don’t comment on rumor or speculation.”

Groupon is certainly eye candy for the biggest Silicon Valley investors, but only a handful could really afford the decidedly non-discount sticker price. These include Amazon, Microsoft, and eBay—if it is the latter, would people bid on coupons? Then there is Facebook, the big power player on the block these days. But despite its size and valuation, Facebook may not have the cash on hand since it never released an IPO. And speaking about size, Groupon is actually bigger than Facebook, if not in value then in the number of employees.

What makes Google the most logical bidder is its past experience with Yelp. Though that deal fell through, Google does seem to have its eye on sites promoting local businesses. And as we said, Groupon, the world’s fastest growing startup, is definitely eye candy.
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