Groupon Buys iPad App Maker Breadcrumb

Discount deal website Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) has acquired Breadcrumb, a developer of small restaurant management apps for Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad.

In a blog post announcing the deal, Groupon did not reveal what it paid for Breadcrumb or any other terms of the transaction. However, it noted that Breadcrumb would continue operations.

Groupon Pops, But Is it Time to Deal?

Unnamed sources told AllThingsD that Groupon had paid between $10 million and $15 million for Breadcrumb.

Shares of Groupon fell�more than�2% in early Wednesday trading in a downward trending market.

Breadcrumb joins more than a dozen similar start-ups acquired by Groupon over the last 12 months, including Uptake and Adku.

With iPad apps and a range of support services, Breadcrumb�provides a point of sale system (POS) that allows restaurants or cafes to track orders and process payments, bypassing the need for cash registers. The apps also offer staff scheduling, business analytics and payroll tools.

In its announcement, Groupon said the acquisition of Breadcrumb was part of a strategy to provide merchants with inexpensive business management tools.

The company has a mobile payment system in development,�and will�likely�add some elements of Breadcrumb’s POS system to enhance that system. It will also probably adapt Breadcrumb’s system to easily process Groupon discount deals.