[ Groupon CEO Andrew Mason in 2009. ]

Groupon has cancelled its IPO road show and is reassessing the timing of its public offering on a week-to-week basis according to a Wall Street Journal report. This means social gaming site Zynga, which filed in early July, could go public first. CNBC reported Zynga's IPO would likely be in October rather than September.

The Journal's source says the Securities and Exchange Commission has contacted a Groupon attorney about a memo CEO Andrew Mason wrote -- leaked to Kara Swisher of All Things D on Aug. 26 -- in which he reassured employees about the company's financial health and its future.

As we reported in mid-August, a respected investor told LAUNCH Groupon's IPO was in trouble.

Finance blogger James Altucher [ @jaltucher ] says the SEC investigation is normal procedure because Groupon is in its quiet period. But he points out that Zynga -- the "better company" although the SEC has also had questions about its accounting practices -- going public first will be good for the market.

"This will get the IPO steamroller rolling for Q3 and Q4 as people realize that great, profitable companies have been growing faster than ever in the U.S. And this will drive the market up," James told LAUNCH.

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