Squarespace acquires Google Domains assets

Squarespace Inc. (NYSE: SQSP) announced it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with Google, whereby Squarespace will acquire the assets associated with the Google Domains business, which will be winding down following a transition period. This purchase includes approximately 10 million domains hosted on Google Domains spread across millions of customers.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, and is subject to certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

“We are exceptionally proud to be chosen to serve the customers of the Google Domains business,” said Anthony Casalena, Founder & CEO of Squarespace. “Domains are a critical part of web infrastructure and an essential piece of every business’s online presence. 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.”

“In keeping with our efforts to sharpen our focus, we have entered into a definitive agreement with Squarespace for the acquisition of customer accounts of the Google Domains registrar business,” said Matt Madrigal, Vice President and General Manager, Merchant Shopping of Google. “Supporting a smooth transition for customers over the coming months, with the help of the Google Domains team, is our top priority. Squarespace can provide an integrated experience of purchasing and managing domains along with offering other tools that these customers may need to build their online presence.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Squarespace will honor all existing Google Domains customers’ renewal prices for at least 12 months following the closing of the transaction, as well as provide additional incentives to encourage Google Domains customers to build a website with Squarespace and adopt other Squarespace offerings. Further, Squarespace will be leveraging Google’s infrastructure powering the Google Domains product during the migration period in order to ensure the seamless transfer of domains.

Upon closing, Squarespace, a long- time reseller of Google Workspace, will become the exclusive domains provider for any customer purchasing a domain along with their Workspace subscription from Google directly for a minimum of three years. Squarespace will also provide billing and support services to Google Workspace customers that 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.

While the majority of the benefits of this deal will be realized in 2024 and beyond, Squarespace believes this deal will be meaningfully accretive to its business from both a revenue and free cash flow perspective over time.

Sold.Domains

About Konstantinos Zournas

I studied Computer Engineering and Computer Science in London, UK and I am now living in Athens, Greece. I went online in 1995, started coding in 1996 and began buying domain names and creating websites in 2000. I started the OnlineDomain.com blog in 2012.

3 comments

  1. Reallybigidea.com

    Hi, you probably won’t believe but it was my idea – bring Google to domain business and create own registrar. Several years ago before launching dotGoogle I suggested many times via support to move all services and googleblog to dotgoogle and start selling domains because Google used Gandi Registrar.

  2. An intriguing development indeed! It seems that Google is strategically consolidating its business focus and future prospects by divesting from non-essential ventures. This move to offload the Google Domains assets to Squarespace signals their commitment to streamlining operations and prioritizing core areas of expertise. It will be fascinating to observe how Google’s strategic realignment unfolds in the coming months.

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