May 13 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Permira will take

Squarespace ( SQSP ) private in an all-cash deal valued at about

$6.9 billion, the website-design platform said on Monday.

Shares of the company, which helps businesses and

individuals build, design websites and create e-commerce stores,

rose nearly 12% in premarket trading.

Permira's offer price of $44 per share, represents a 15.2%

premium to the stock's last closing price on Friday. The offer

price values Squarespace ( SQSP ) at more than $6.6 billion, the company

said.

Squarespace ( SQSP ) went public in May 2021 and was valued at $6.5

billion in its market debut.

Founder and CEO Anthony Casalena will roll over a

substantial majority of his existing stake and continue to be

one of the largest shareholders after the deal, the company

said.

The transaction is expected to close by the fourth quarter

of 2024.