2 minute read | June.22.2023
Squarespace Inc. has reached an agreement with Google to acquire assets associated with Google Domains, which will wind down after a transition period. The purchase includes about 10 million domains hosted on Google Domains spread across millions of customers.
"We are exceptionally proud to be chosen to serve the customers of the Google Domains business," said Anthony Casalena, Squarespace’s founder and CEO.
Squarespace is a design-driven platform that helps entrepreneurs build brands and businesses online. With customers in more than 200 countries and territories, the company offers products that include websites, domains, ecommerce and marketing tools as well as tools for scheduling and creating and managing a social media presence. It provides software as a service for website building and hosting, allowing users to use pre-built templates and drag-and-drop elements to create and modify webpages.
“Domains are a critical part of web infrastructure and an essential piece of every business's online presence,” Casalena said. “We look forward to serving these new customers as we have served millions using our domain products and are committed to ensuring a seamless transition."
The deal is expected to close in the summer or early fall, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
When that happens, Squarespace will become the exclusive domains provider for any customer purchasing a domain with their Google Workspace subscription from Google directly for a minimum of three years. Squarespace will provide billing and support services to Google Workspace customers who signed up for the service through Google Domains. Customers will continue to have the option to make changes to their domains account at any time.
Squarespace says the majority of the deal’s benefits will be realized in 2024 and beyond, and that it believes the deal will help its business over time from a revenue and free cash flow perspective.
Orrick’s David Schwartz and Daniel Forester led the team that advised Squarespace. The team included Jamie Kamen, and Sky Stallbaumer, with invaluable support from John Narducci, Craig Falls, Jennifer Clarke-Smith, Christy Matelis, Haley Flora, David Curtis, Shannon Yavorsky, Alex Sobolev, Dan Kearney, Josh Emmett, Sulina Gabale and Matthew Coleman.