Squarespace is going private in a $6.9 billion deal with private equity firm Permira.
Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the fourth quarter, Squarespace said in a Monday (May 13) press release.
Becoming a privately held company will give the website-building platform greater flexibility and resources, the company said in the release.
“Squarespace has been at the forefront of providing services to businesses looking to establish themselves online for more than two decades,” Anthony Casalena, founder and CEO of Squarespace, said in the release. “We are excited to continue building on that foundation, and expanding our offerings, for years to come.”
Casalena will continue to be one of the company’s largest shareholders following the transaction and will continue to lead the company as CEO and board chairman, according to the release.
The members of Squarespace’s leadership team are expected to continue their roles as well, the release said.
The Squarespace ecosystem provides small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with everything from demand generation to payment solutions, and aims to further invest in these tools, Andrew Young, partner at Permira, said in the release.
The firm’s brand is distinct and is recognized globally, David Erlong, partner at Permira, said.
“As a firm with a long history of backing leading internet platforms and technologies that enable SMBs to compete globally, we are excited to partner with Anthony and his team to support the company in unlocking its full potential,” Erlong said in the release.
PYMNTS Intelligence has found that nearly half of SMBs in the United States use Squarespace for their online sales and operations.
About 46.5% of SMBs use the platform, and 28.2% said it is their most used platform, according to “Main Street Health Q4 2023: eCommerce Protects Main Street SMBs’ Bottom Line in a Cooling Market,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Enigma collaboration.
The company reported in February that it surpassed $1 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In October, Squarespace announced the addition of Squarespace Payments, a native payment solution that lets merchants accept payments directly through the platform instead of having to connect a third-party payment provider.
“By putting ourselves at the center of the transaction, there are a lot of things that we can solve for our customers,” Dan Chandre, Squarespace vice president, head of Acuity and payments, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in an interview posted at the time.