By Douglas MacMillan and Joseph Galante


(Bloomberg) — Groupon Inc., a Chicago-based Internet-coupon service with more than 35 million users, walked away from an acquisition offer from Google Inc. yesterday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The proposed acquisition fell through amid hesitation by Groupon's founders, said the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. The startup will decide next year whether to sell shares in an initial public offering instead, the person said. The discussions could resume if both sides overcome their differences.

Google had offered $6 billion, including incentives that would be paid to the target's managers if performance targets were met, people familiar with the matter had said this week.