Timid post-Covid tech cleanup begins with mini-LBO

Squarespace

13/05/2024 18:39

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are his own.)
    By Robert Cyran
       NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Website
builder Squarespace is going private, the latest deal for a tech
firm in a post-pandemic funk. A price of 20 times EBITDA looks
more modest when accounting for investors sticking around and
improving cash flow. Opportunistic dealmakers aren’t yet
swinging for the fences. 
    Full view will be published shortly.
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    CONTEXT NEWS 
    Squarespace said on May 13 it would go private in a $44 per
share deal that values the company at $6.6 billion. Including
debt, the transaction values the website builder at $6.9
billion. The price is a 15% premium to the closing price of
Squarespace shares on May 10.
    Founder and chief executive Anthony Casalena will reinvest
a substantial majority of his stake in the company. Investors
General Atlantic and Accel will also reinvest as part of the
deal.
    Squarespace went public in 2021 in a direct listing, opening
on its first day at $48 a share.

 (Editing by Jonathan Guilford and Sharon Lam)
 ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
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