Groupon said to close IPO orders early on demand for shares

Groupon Inc. is stopping taking orders for its initial public offering a day earlier than planned because of demand for the shares, said two people familiar with the sale.

The Chicago-based company planned to close the order book for stock at 4 p.m. New York time today, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is private. Groupon’s shares are scheduled to price tomorrow evening and begin trading on Nov. 4.

Groupon is floating a record-low percentage of its total outstanding shares in the IPO, helping to stoke demand for the stock. Only 4.7 percent of the unprofitable company’s shares will be sold to the public, less than in any U.S. Internet- company IPO of more $200 million since at least 2000, according to Bloomberg data. The company has been pitching the IPO to investors since last week.

Julie Mossler, a spokeswoman for Groupon, declined to comment.

The company is seeking to raise as much as $540 million selling 30 million shares for $16 to $18 apiece. The top end of the range would value Groupon at $11.4 billion.

Groupon’s shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol GRPN.