Ted Leonsis named Interim co-CEO of Groupon

Groupon fired then CEO Andrew Mason yesterday shortly after the company announced that the company lost $81.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 after losing $65 million the year before. Ted is one of Groupon's largest investors and also serves on the board for American Express. Leonsis and Lefkofsky will hire the new Groupon CEO so don't expect Ted to stay in Chicago for too long.

On his blog today, Ted gave a quick statement that he is still a strong proponent for Groupon. Here it is in its entirety:

I spent the last few days at Groupon in Chicago and have agreed to serve in a new office of the CEO on an interim basis. I have been involved with the company since 2009, and have served as Vice Chairman since the company went public. I am also on the board of directors of the company.

I believe in the people of Groupon. I believe in its business and in the way it serves its customers and merchants alike. This is a very important next-generation-curated commerce company. It is one of the fastest growing companies ever, and employs around 10,000 people on a global basis. It is a pioneer in the new emerging category of where social, mobile, local and e-commerce all intersect.

I have also been asked to help recruit and find the next CEO of the company.

Here are a series of articles about yesterday's developments.Click here, here, here and here.

While this move doesn't necessarily affect anything right away for what happens at Verizon Center and the three pro sports teams that call it home, this is still something worth monitoring if you are a Capitals, Wizards, and/or Mystics fan.