The Russian investment group Digital Sky Technologies, which bought a stake of $ 300 million in Facebook last year, led an investment of 135 million dollars in North American site for collective purchases Groupon.

The DST and co-investor Battery Ventures said that most of the money will be used to finance global expansion Groupon, which uses the collective purchasing power to get discounts on activities, food and products for its thousands of customers.

The Groupon operates in over 50 cities and states have managed to save more than $ 150 million for its users since its launch in 2008. The company is part of The Point an online community launched in 2007 for organizing group actions. The Groupon just been launched in Toronto, Canada – its first location outside the United States – and plans to expand to London.

“This investment reflects our view that social networks and community actions will be the engine and will define the evolution of the Internet in the future,” said the chief executive of DST, Yuri Milner, in a statement on Monday.

The group also holds interests in producing videogames social Zynga, which creates games for social networks like Facebook and MySpace, and profits from the sale of virtual goods.

Via: Mashable.