Groupon has fired founder and CEO Andrew Mason, after the struggling daily deals firm posted another quarterly loss yesterday, which caused its share price to fall by 24 per cent to $4.53, compared to $20 when the company floated in November 2011.

Mason seems to have accepted the decisions reasonably stoically and with good grace. In a letter to Groupon employees, he wrote:

“After four-and-a-half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, Ive decided that Id like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If youre wondering why… you havent been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price thats hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year-and-a-half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.”

With Mason seemingly accepting culpability for the way in which the company has lost its way since it floated, it remains to be seen whether it can bounce back, in the face of apparent public boredom with daily deals offerings, combned with stiff competition from the likes of Amazon and Google.