China's Groupon clone files for $100 million U.S. IPO

China's leading daily-deals website Lashou Group plans to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq to expand its marketing efforts and delivery systems, according to a filing to the stock exchange.

Lashou, which was launched in March 2010, operates in 500 cities or towns in China. Its business model is like Groupon Inc, where users buy discounted deals from merchants who have revenue-sharing agreements with Lashou. China's group buying sector is intensely competitive and saturated with more than a thousand group buying websites and Lashou faces an uphill battle to win a lion's share, analysts say. "E-commerce in China is hyper competitive, much more than the U.S., and if any sector stands out as highest risk for lowest return, then it is group buying," said Michael Clendenin, managing director at Shanghai-based consultancy RedTech Advisors. Groupon is also in the process of filing its books for its IPO to sell 30 million shares at $16 to 18 apiece. Groupon may raise its price range due to demand.