This year might be considered as the year of the daily deals sites, as more and more companies venture out into this market.  There are daily deals sites dedicated for travelers, moms, spa-holics and foodies.  You’d think that the web is already congested with these daily deals sites, but businesses think otherwise.  Daily deals sites are here to stay and it looks like 2012 might be another year for group-buying and discount websites.

LivingSocial

In a filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, LivingSocial disclosed that they have sold securities for $176 million of their targeted amount.  A source stated that the company lined up $200 million in funding, which gives LivingSocial a valuation of about $6 billion. Back in April, LivingSocial raised $400 million in a round of funding, half of which went to shareholders.

LivingSocial was prepping for their IPO back in June expecting to raise $1 billion, but decided to postpone as the market has been quite volatile for the past months.  If they had pushed through with their plans, they could experience a roller coaster ride like competitor Groupon, which witnessed soaring, and plummeting stocks since their IPO last month.

Plum District

The daily deals site catering to savvy moms announced that it has raised $20 million in a venture capital funding led by General Catalyst Partners along with existing investor Kleiner Perkins & Byers as well as new participants like Comcast Ventures and Duke University.  To date, Plum District already raised a total of $30 million in funding.

Aside from the new round of funding, Plum District also announced that it has acquired Chatterfly, a mobile loyalty rewards platform, and DoodleDeals, a deal site focused on the East Coast markets that has distribution deals with Time Out New York Kids, What to Expect and Amazon-owned Diapers.com.  Terms of both acquisition were not disclosed.

8coupons

Towerstream Corporation, a leading 4G service provider and Wi-Fi network operator, and 8coupons announced a partnership to offer geo-targeted daily deals through Towerstream’s Manhattan Wi-Fi network.

Aside from enjoying a free Wi-Fi connection, New Yorkers are presented with surprise deals fro 8coupon’s inventory of over 50 daily deal providers with a presence in Manhattan, such as LivingSocial, Groupon, KGB Deals, Gilt City, LifeBooker, Zozi and a lot more.  Users just log-on to view the surprise daily deal, and enjoy the remainder of their Wi-Fi experience, interruption free.

“Towerstream believes 8coupons is an ideal partner in our strategy to monetize our carrier class Wi-Fi network in Manhattan,” says Peter Clifford, Director of Wi-Fi Business Solutions at Towerstream. “Geo-targeted deals from 8coupons combined with our advanced network, makes for an exciting fit, especially for Manhattan users who crave connectivity and who are passionate about their pursuit to find the best deals.”

“Not only are we providing free public Wi-Fi, we are also connecting New Yorkers to great deals within walking distance to where they are at that exact moment,” says Matt Moskowitz, Director of Marketing at 8coupons. “Log on, check your email, and then buy a 50% off sushi deal around the corner.”

Ride The Deal

Deal A Day Group Corp. launched Ride The Deal, dubbed as the next generation of group buying website.

“Ride The Deal intends to focus on local markets by promoting merchants and their businesses to the local community. Ride The Deal plans to enhance the relationship between merchants and their patrons creating new long-term business within the community. Our initial product launch will be in DADG’s hometown of Long Beach, California. Eventually we plan to deploy this strategy in multiple cities targeting the underserved and outlying metropolitan areas for 2012 and beyond,” stated.