The private sale service Gilt Groupe is looking to raise between $80-100 million in a deal that will value the company at around $1 billion, according to Business Insider’s Henry Blodget.
Breaking the news of Gilt’s new valuation via Blodget is an interesting choice, since two of Gilt Groupe’s co-founders, Kevin Ryan and Dwight Merriman, are also co-founders and board members of Business Insider.
Perhaps that’s why the piece takes such a measured tone, pointing out the challenges facing private sale sites — slowing growth, inventory backlog, profits have yet to appear — before concluding that, “flash-sale business represents a huge opportunity.”
To date the company has raised about $80 million and recorded revenues of $270 million last year. Its billion dollar valuation is based in part on hopes that the company will double its revenue to $500 million this year.
Every week seems to bring another funding round pushing the value of web companies through the roof, but so far most of this action has been in Silicon Valley. Gilt CEO Kevin Ryan, who sold NY based Doubleclick for $1.1 billion back in 2005, is looking to make it rain in NY again, already hinting at a 2012 IPO.
bpopper [at] observer.com | @benpopper
