Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Likes Potential Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Groupon Marriage

Conflicting rumors and news has the shares of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)in flux, as the plummeted on Tuesday on the news the European Union was investigating anti-trust issues with the company.

On the other side is the rumor everyone seems to know, and that is their possible acquisition of Groupon. If it wasn't for the weight of the investigation on them, Google probably would have taken off on the rumors.

Commenting on the potential acquisition, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) said, "Rumors about Google's potential acquisition of Groupon reached new heights on Tuesday with the WSJ's All Things Digital site reporting that Google could pay up to $6B for the social buying site. While neither company has confirmed the reports, if it were to occur this would be the largest acquisition in Google's history. On the surface the reported $6B purchase price seems fairly rich, however, we think the Groupon revenue trajectory and the potential combination with Google's location based assets like Maps and Places would be very powerful. We believe great strategic value could reside in the ability to know where people are and what they want and match those needs with merchants.

"Our thesis on Google is that the company has two fast growing revenue opportunities with display and Android that will augment the still solid growth play in search, which should drive continued share price."

Google closed Tuesday at $555.71, plunging $26.40, or 4.54 percent. Trading volume was more than double the daily 3-month average.

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