Private Equity Firm Permira Acquires Squarespace for $7.2 Billion
Private equity company Permira has purchased all available common stock for the website builder Squarespace, ending Squarespace’s publicly traded era.
Squarespace has long been one of the go-to resources for photographers who are designing, building, and hosting websites, whether for sharing digital portfolios or running a full-fledged photo business.
Private equity firms are relatively commonplace in the photo industry, swooping in to purchase a wide range of assets in recent years including Kodak Alaris, Henry’s camera stores in Canada, major image sensor maker Toshiba, and a bit further back, Shutterfly and Snapfish.
While not always the case, these firms often appear when an asset is ailing. In Squarespace’s case, as TechCrunch reports, Squarespace went public in 2021 and hit a peak public market cap of $8 billion, $2 billion short of the company’s highest private valuation. In 2022, Squarespace’s market cap dropped off the face of a cliff to just $2 billion before clawing back to $5 billion.
Permira believes this bounceback is no fluke, as the private equity firm has agreed to pay $46.50 per share, constituting a $7.2 billion valuation. Permira initially announced plans to purchase Squarespace’s outstanding stocks in May, offering shareholders $44 a share ($6.6 billion total valuation). This initial offer was rejected based on proxy advising firm Institutional Shareholder Services’ recommendation, per Reuters.
According to Permira, which announced the agreement earlier this week, the transaction was due to complete on October 17, meaning that today, October, Squarespace is once again a privately held company. The deal has been agreed upon and completed with financial and legal services from well-known companies, including J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, and more.
Anthony Casalena, who founded Squarespace in 2004 and has remained with the company since, will continue as Squarespace’s CEO and chairman in the advent of the take-private acquisition. Permira says Casalena has “rolled over a substantial majority” of his existing Squarespace equity, meaning that Casalena remains one of Squarespace’s most significant shareholders.
On the consumer side of things, nothing is slated to change. Squarespace recently announced its annual release of new products, features, and updates, including AI-powered design tools, an AI website builder, new one-click personalized website themes, and much more. Complete details are available on Squarespace’s dedicated Refresh 2024 website.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
