Permira’s acquisition of Squarespace is complete. The transaction was announced on May 13, 2024, at $44 per share and an approximate $6.9 billion enterprise value. After negotiations, the offer rose to $46.50 per share and approximately $7.2 billion, and the deal closed on October 17, 2024. Squarespace is now privately held and is no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Deal at a glance
| Date | Event | Terms or result |
|---|---|---|
| May 13, 2024 | Initial agreement announced | $44 cash per share; more than $6.6 billion equity value and approximately $6.9 billion enterprise value |
| September 9, 2024 | Agreement amended | $46.50 cash per share; approximately $7.2 billion aggregate transaction value |
| October 11, 2024 | Tender offer expired | 46,971,451 shares were validly tendered and not withdrawn |
| October 17, 2024 | Acquisition closed | Squarespace became privately held and ceased to be NYSE-listed |
The original announcement is documented in Squarespace’s SEC filing. The amended price and later closing were announced by Squarespace in September and October.
Why the headline changed from $6.9 billion to $7.2 billion
The $6.9 billion figure belonged to the original May proposal. Permira initially offered $44 in cash for each share, a roughly 15% premium to Squarespace’s May 10 closing price of $38.19 and about a 29% premium to its 90-day volume-weighted average price.
On September 9, Permira and Squarespace amended the agreement. The price increased by $2.50, or about 5.7%, to $46.50 per share. Squarespace said the revised transaction value was approximately $7.2 billion and described the offer as Permira’s “best and final” proposal. The revised price represented a reported 36.4% premium to the pre-announcement 90-day volume-weighted average price of $34.09. The amendment followed negotiations and approval by Squarespace’s independent special committee; the public filings do not establish that a particular rival bidder forced the increase.
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The revised process used a tender offer followed by a second-step merger, rather than relying solely on the original shareholder-meeting route. The negotiation and structural changes are described in the SEC transaction materials and preliminary proxy filing.
Enterprise value is not the same as cash paid to shareholders
Squarespace’s announcements used two different valuation concepts. Equity value is the value attributable to the company’s shares; the initial announcement put it at more than $6.6 billion. Enterprise value, initially approximately $6.9 billion and later approximately $7.2 billion, is an aggregate measure that can reflect debt, cash and other balance-sheet items as well as equity.
Therefore, it is inaccurate to describe the final $7.2 billion figure as cash handed to public shareholders. The contractual consideration for a share was $46.50 in cash, without interest and subject to applicable withholding taxes. The final transaction’s enterprise value and the checks received by individual investors answer different questions.
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How the take-private transaction worked
- Tender offer: Permira offered to buy Squarespace shares directly from holders for $46.50 each. Investors could tender instead of voting at a conventional merger meeting.
- Rollover commitments: Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena, General Atlantic and Accel rolled over or reinvested agreed portions of their holdings rather than selling every share for cash.
- Second-step merger: After the tender conditions were met, remaining shares were converted into the right to receive the same cash consideration. The structure relied on Section 251(h) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which permits a merger without a separate shareholder vote after a qualifying tender offer. The SEC Offer to Purchase explains the mechanics.
- Delisting: Completion ended Squarespace’s public-company status and its NYSE listing.
At expiration on October 11, 2024, tendered shares combined with rollover or directly sold shares represented approximately 97.5% of total voting power, 84.4% of Class A voting power and 100% of Class B voting power. They represented approximately 77.7% of the voting power held by unaffiliated shareholders, according to the tender-offer results.
What shareholders received—and what they should consider
Cash consideration
Holders covered by the merger received $46.50 per share in cash, subject to withholding and without interest. Investors who did not tender were generally still subject to the second-step merger under its terms, rather than retaining a publicly traded Squarespace position.
Taxes
A cash buyout can create a capital gain or loss based on an investor’s tax basis, account type and jurisdiction. Retirement-account treatment, withholding and reporting can differ. The transaction releases are not individualized tax advice, so investors should consult a qualified tax professional.
Appraisal rights
Delaware law can provide appraisal rights in certain mergers, but appraisal is a specialized legal remedy with strict procedures and deadlines. It is not an automatic option to reject the offer or demand a higher price. The final transaction materials describe the applicable process.
Why Squarespace agreed to go private
Squarespace said private ownership would provide flexibility and resources for long-term investment. The company had been public only since 2021, and a private structure removes quarterly public-market reporting and trading pressures. Permira presented the acquisition as a way to invest in tools serving entrepreneurs and small and midsize businesses.
Those statements describe the parties’ stated rationale, not proof that public markets undervalued Squarespace or that one motive explains the deal. The transaction also allowed Casalena to retain a substantial equity position while continuing to lead the company.
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What happened to Anthony Casalena, General Atlantic and Accel?
Casalena did not make a clean exit. He rolled over a substantial majority of his existing equity, remained CEO and board chair, and continued as one of Squarespace’s largest shareholders. General Atlantic and Accel also reinvested or rolled over agreed holdings at the revised offer price. The closing announcement confirms the continuing leadership structure.
What the deal means for customers
The acquisition changed ownership, not the documented status of customer accounts. The closing announcement did not announce an immediate change to website plans, domains, hosting or product access, and it said the existing leadership team would continue. Customers could therefore continue managing their sites under Squarespace’s service arrangements.
Private ownership could eventually bring different investment priorities, pricing decisions, staffing levels or support policies, but none of those outcomes is established by the acquisition announcements. A customer deciding whether to start or keep a site should evaluate Squarespace’s current plans and policies directly, rather than treating the buyout itself as evidence of a price increase, feature removal or service decline.
What it may mean for employees
Continuity at the top may reduce immediate management disruption, but the transaction documents do not establish future staffing, restructuring, benefits or compensation changes. Private-equity ownership can create pressure for efficiency and cash generation, while also giving management more freedom to make long-term investments. Employee outcomes depend on decisions made after closing, not on the acquisition announcement alone.
Quick Recap
Why this transaction matters
- It illustrates why an announcement headline is not necessarily the final deal: the offer moved from $44 to $46.50 per share.
- It shows why enterprise value and equity value should not be treated as interchangeable when evaluating an acquisition.
- It combines a public-market exit with continued founder leadership and substantial insider ownership.
- It demonstrates how a tender offer and Section 251(h) merger can complete a take-private transaction without a separate final shareholder vote.
- It gives customers and employees a reason to distinguish verified ownership changes from predictions about future products, prices or jobs.
Final timeline
- May 10, 2024: Squarespace closed at $38.19 before the announcement.
- May 13, 2024: Permira announced the $44-per-share proposal at approximately $6.9 billion enterprise value.
- September 9, 2024: The parties raised the offer to $46.50 per share and approximately $7.2 billion.
- October 11, 2024: The tender offer expired with 46,971,451 shares validly tendered and not withdrawn.
- October 17, 2024: The acquisition closed and Squarespace left the NYSE.
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