08:42 AM EDT, 05/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Squarespace ( SQSP ) on Monday sad it has agreed to be acquired and taken private by British investment firm Permira in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of roughly $6.9 billion.

Investors of the website building and hosting company will receive $44 per share in cash, reflecting a 15% premium to its closing share price on Friday. The transaction represents an equity value of more than $6.6 billion.

Shares of the company jumped nearly 13% in premarket activity.

Squarespace ( SQSP ) Chief Executive Anthony Casalena and long-term investors General Atlantic and Accel, representing 90% of the company's voting shares, have agreed to vote in favor of the deal. The transaction will be contingent upon approval from a majority of stockholders that are unaffiliated with Casalena, General Atlantic and Accel, according to Squarespace ( SQSP ).

The deal, which also requires clearance from regulators, is expected to close by the fourth quarter. The company will no longer trade publicly once the deal completes.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Permira on this new leg of our journey, alongside our existing long-term investors General Atlantic and Accel, who strongly believe in the future of Squarespace ( SQSP )," Casalena said in a statement. Casalena will continue to lead the web-design platform as CEO and chair and remain one of its largest shareholders.

As a private entity, Squarespace ( SQSP ) will have the flexibility and resources to invest in entrepreneurs to develop online brands and more easily transact with their customers, it said. General Atlantic and Accel will also re-invest in the company as part of the deal.

"The Squarespace ( SQSP ) ecosystem provides (small- and medium-sized businesses) with a broad offering - from demand generation to powerful payment solutions, all seamlessly interwoven with intuitive (generative artificial intelligence)," said Andrew Young, a partner at Permira. "We share Anthony and the team's vision to further invest in these tools to help customers grow."

Squarespace ( SQSP ) said it will no longer hold its investor day on Wednesday in light of the proposed deal. Last week, the company reported breakeven first-quarter earnings, unchanged from a year earlier and better than the Capital IQ-polled consensus for a per-share loss of $0.09. Revenue increased 19% to $281.1 million, topping the Street's view.

Price: 43.15, Change: +4.96, Percent Change: +12.99