Google is reportedly interested in acquiring shopping deals website Groupon, and is willing to spend well over $3 billion (€2.1 billion) to do so.
Sources close to the discussions say Google has been meeting with Groupon to discuss the terms of a potential purchase, All Things Digital reported.
The prices being discussed are significantly higher than the $2 billion to $3 billion insiders say Yahoo offered in unsuccessful merger talks last month.
US-based Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that operates in the Americas, Asia and Europe. It currently earns revenue of more than $50 million per month.
The company is believed to be seeking a venture funding round that would value it at roughly $3 billion. The most recent round in April left the company worth $1.3 billion.
Google could face competition for the firm from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and eBay, the sources told All Things Digital, because only those firms would have the scale and potential synergies required for a successful acquisition.
While Groupon's portfolio may also be a good fit with Facebook, the social networking site may not yet possess the required cash reserves and stock.
Google, which is coming under increasing scrutiny from US regulators, may also have difficulty gaining the required approvals for a deal.