Permira completed its $7.2B acquisition of Squarespace, officially taking the company private again. With the completion of the deal, Squarespace is no longer listed on the NYSE.
As part of the transaction, Squarespace founder and CEO Anthony Casalena rolled over a majority of his existing equity and continues to be one of the largest shareholders in the company. He will also continue to serve as the company's CEO and Board Chairman.
Casalena wrote, “We are excited to embark on a new chapter with Permira, one focused on our long-term strategy and commitment to serving entrepreneurs globally. For more than 20 years we have provided customers with all the tools they need to stand out and succeed. This commitment will remain the same as we continue to offer our customers more and more tools to grow their businesses online.”
Quick history of the deal:
- Squarespace first announced in May that it would be going private in a $6.9B all-cash deal with private-equity firm Permira, who agreed to pay $44 per share (a roughly 30% premium).
- A week after it was announced, 6+ law firms began investigating the deal over belief that Squarespace's board of directors agreed to an unfair amount to be paid to shareholders so that they could see greater upside once the company went private.
- Four months later, Permira agreed to up its offer price to $7.2B (or $46.50 per share) to take Squarespace private.
- One month later the deal closed.
- All-and-all it took only 5 months from announcement to close the deal.
Alongside the Permira deal, American Express completed its planned acquisition of Tock, a reservation, table, and event management technology provider, from Squarespace.
What are your predictions for Squarespace now that it's gone private? Are you bullish or bearish on the long term success of the business? Hit reply and let me know or join the convo on my LinkedIn post.