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.

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