Deal-maker firm is making its own deals

U.S. Internet firm Groupon said it was buying companies to add to its technical talent pool. "Basically we're able to buy teams of folks that are better than what we were able to hire on," said Chief Financial Officer Jason Child after the 17th company acquisition in the past year was announced. "If you catch a lot of these technologies early on, they certainly are more affordable than when they become later stage," Child told The Chicago Tribune. In essence, Groupon is acting like venture capitalists, purchasing start-up firms with technology they can continue to develop and talented staff members they can put to work. Groupon this week acquired FeeFighters, a Web site that provides an online payment service. The terms of the deal were not announced, but a Groupon spokeswoman said the firm was "looking forward to adding additional talent to the Palo Alto team."