Mar 18, 2011 10:55 GMT  ·  By

Groupon has seen no shortage of coverage in recent months and it's mostly been for good reason. It's been labeled as the fastest growing company in history and now seems set to break even more records, as it prepares for an initial public offer valuating it at as much as $25 billion.

If Groupon were to reach this point, it would be the biggest venture-backed IPO in history, vindicating its refusal to sell to Google for $6 billion only a couple of months ago.

According to the latest report from Bloomberg, Groupon, which was already rumored to be looking to go public, the bankers handling the operation are looking for an IPO valuing the company at a minimum of $15 billion and as much as $25 billion.

Groupon's valuation has been skyrocketing lately, but $25 billion is more than enough to raise some eyebrows, even at this point. The company is only a couple of years old and it would already be worth a lot more than plenty of established businesses.

However, there may be a very good reason for the huge valuation, Groupon is bringing in quite a lot of money and is insanely profitable. The latest rumors say Groupon is making, at this point, several billion per year.

Last December, it was already estimated to be making $2 billion a year based on that months' revenues. Considering that it made below $1 billion in 2010, its growth rate perhaps justifies its huge valuation.

And it's not only the revenue figures that are impressive, since Groupon usually keeps about 50 percent of all revenues, its profits are huge. Even so, at $25 billion it would be the biggest venture-backed IPO ever, nudging out Google which went for a little under $25 billion.

Of course, the record won't last for long, Facebook is officially valued at $50 billion and second market shares are selling in some cases at prices valuing the company at over $80 billion. By the time Facebook does file for an IPO, about a year from now, it's easy to imagine its value going over $100 billion.