GoDaddy acquired Media Temple to deepen its reach among web professionals and developers, while Media Temple stood to gain the larger company’s scale and investment for growth. Announced on October 15, 2013, the deal came with a stated commitment to keep Media Temple operating independently, with its own brand and Los Angeles office. Those were acquisition-era plans—not evidence of how the companies operate today.
Why did GoDaddy buy Media Temple?
GoDaddy said Media Temple brought expertise with web professionals and developers—an audience GoDaddy wanted to serve more effectively. CEO Blake Irving called that knowledge “a tremendous asset” for GoDaddy. In return, GoDaddy said its scale and investment could accelerate Media Temple’s growth and international expansion. GoDaddy’s October 2013 announcement framed the transaction as a way to combine specialist knowledge with broader resources.
Media Temple’s FAQ described a related goal: reaching more web designers and developers. The proposed fit was reciprocal rather than simply a transfer of customers—the companies presented GoDaddy’s resources as a means to help Media Temple grow, and Media Temple’s audience knowledge as a way for GoDaddy to strengthen its offer to professionals. Media Temple’s acquisition FAQ also said financial return mattered, while noting that other parties had made higher offers.
What did the deal mean for Media Temple’s independence and culture?
At the time of the announcement, the companies said Media Temple would continue to operate independently, retain its brand, and keep its Los Angeles office. Media Temple’s FAQ said preserving its brand, culture, mission, and autonomy was important to the founders’ choice of buyer. These statements describe what the parties said they intended in 2013; they do not establish Media Temple’s present-day brand, ownership, services, or operating arrangements.
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The distinction matters: the acquisition was presented as access to GoDaddy’s resources without an immediate plan to erase Media Temple’s identity. The sources establish the commitment made at the time, but do not show whether every element of that commitment continued over the years.
Why did Media Temple’s co-founder agree to sell?
Co-founder Demian Sellfors said a sale to GoDaddy was not his original plan. He joked, “I’m on year fifteen of the three year plan,” describing how long he had kept building the company beyond his initial expectations. In a contemporaneous interview, Sellfors said conversations with GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving and hosting executive Jeff King changed his view of the potential buyer. Data Center Knowledge’s October 2013 report, republished by WHIR, also reported that the deal price was not disclosed.
What was Media Temple’s scale in 2013?
In its 2013 announcement, GoDaddy said Media Temple had been founded in 1998, served more than 125,000 customers, hosted more than 1.5 million websites, and employed 225 people. These are figures GoDaddy reported at announcement, not current totals.
How did GoDaddy later describe the strategic fit?
GoDaddy’s 2015 annual report described Media Temple as a premium web-hosting provider geared toward web professionals and identified its brand as relevant to GoDaddy’s effort to serve that market. The filing also warned of business risk if GoDaddy failed to develop products and customer care for web professionals or make effective use of the Media Temple brand. That later description supports the strategic importance GoDaddy placed on the segment; it does not verify that the 2013 cultural and autonomy commitments were maintained. GoDaddy’s 2015 annual report.
Was the acquisition price announced?
No price was disclosed in the contemporaneous reporting cited here. Sellfors’s comments provide context for his decision, but the available report does not establish a transaction value. Estimates not supported by that reporting should not be treated as the sale price.
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