Key Takeaways
- • Permira is acquiring Squarespace in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.9 billion on an enterprise basis ($6.6 billion equity valuation), offering shareholders $44 per share—a 15% premium to the May 10, 2024 closing price.
- • The deal represents a significant markdown from Squarespace's $10 billion valuation in its 2021 Series D funding round, though the current offer price reflects a recovery from the stock's 2022 nadir of $2 billion market cap and recent strength in 2024 earnings.
- • CEO and founder Anthony Casalena will remain in his dual role as CEO and board chairman post-acquisition and continue as one of the company's largest shareholders, signaling Permira's confidence in existing leadership and strategy.
- • The transaction exemplifies renewed private equity activity across software and technology sectors, following similar recent deals including Thoma Bravo's $5 billion acquisition of Darktrace and its $1.8 billion deal for Everbridge.
Summary
U.K.-based private equity firm Permira is taking website-building platform Squarespace private in an all-cash transaction that values the company at $6.9 billion enterprise value. The deal, announced on May 13, 2024, offers Squarespace shareholders $44 per share in cash, representing a 15% premium to the company's Friday closing price and resulting in a $6.6 billion equity valuation.
Squarespace, founded in 2004 by Anthony Casalena, provides a no-code platform enabling small and medium-sized enterprises and freelancers to build websites, online stores, and blogs using customizable templates and drag-and-drop functionality. The company's public market journey has been volatile: it reached a $10 billion valuation during its Series D funding round in 2021, subsequently filed for an NYSE listing, and achieved a market cap high of $8 billion in mid-2021. However, the stock deteriorated sharply thereafter, bottoming at approximately $2 billion in 2022. Recent strength in 2024 earnings drove a recovery, pushing the market cap above $5 billion prior to the acquisition announcement.
The Permira deal underscores confidence in Casalena's leadership and vision. He will remain CEO and board chairman following the acquisition and will continue as one of the company's largest shareholders—a significant commitment that reflects the acquirer's long-term strategic outlook. This retention of founder-led management is increasingly common in large PE transactions targeting mature, profitable software platforms.
The Squarespace acquisition fits within a broader pattern of private equity capital deployment in software and technology infrastructure. Thoma Bravo recently acquired cybersecurity firm Darktrace for $5 billion and critical event management software company Everbridge for $1.8 billion. Vista Equity Partners also announced plans to acquire revenue optimization platform Model N, signaling aggressive PE positioning in specialized software markets. These transactions suggest that private equity firms view profitable, recurring-revenue software businesses as attractive risk-adjusted opportunities, particularly when public market valuations have corrected from earlier peaks.
Squarespace, founded in 2004 by Anthony Casalena, provides a no-code platform enabling small and medium-sized enterprises and freelancers to build websites, online stores, and blogs using customizable templates and drag-and-drop functionality. The company's public market journey has been volatile: it reached a $10 billion valuation during its Series D funding round in 2021, subsequently filed for an NYSE listing, and achieved a market cap high of $8 billion in mid-2021. However, the stock deteriorated sharply thereafter, bottoming at approximately $2 billion in 2022. Recent strength in 2024 earnings drove a recovery, pushing the market cap above $5 billion prior to the acquisition announcement.
The Permira deal underscores confidence in Casalena's leadership and vision. He will remain CEO and board chairman following the acquisition and will continue as one of the company's largest shareholders—a significant commitment that reflects the acquirer's long-term strategic outlook. This retention of founder-led management is increasingly common in large PE transactions targeting mature, profitable software platforms.
The Squarespace acquisition fits within a broader pattern of private equity capital deployment in software and technology infrastructure. Thoma Bravo recently acquired cybersecurity firm Darktrace for $5 billion and critical event management software company Everbridge for $1.8 billion. Vista Equity Partners also announced plans to acquire revenue optimization platform Model N, signaling aggressive PE positioning in specialized software markets. These transactions suggest that private equity firms view profitable, recurring-revenue software businesses as attractive risk-adjusted opportunities, particularly when public market valuations have corrected from earlier peaks.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.