Squarespace Announces IPO Plans; Files Confidentially With SEC

Squarespace announced that it had applied for a confidential registration to go public with the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), a release says.

The brief press release doesn’t constitute an offer to sell and doesn’t mean there’s any offer to buy securities on the table.

Squarespace was reported to be seeking a $400 million credit line in 2019, PYMNTS reported, which generally means that the company is preparing to go public.

Squarespace wanted to get the credit facility before 2021 when the listing was slated to come.

The company is cash-flow positive, a difference from others that are also worth a billion dollars. That, PYMNTS wrote, should bode well for its chances. Squarespace was valued at $1.7 billion in December 2017, coming on the heels of an investment from General Atlantic for $200 million. Accel Ventures and Index Ventures also chipped in.

Squarespace, which works in the website building and hosting industry, has competed with Wix.com and GoDaddy.com. The company bought Acuity Scheduling in 2019, which aided it in helping small businesses manage appointments online, and also purchased Unfold, an app letting users create stories throughout all social media platforms.

Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena said the company’s goal was to be an “all in one” platform for “anyone to stand out,” including both those making businesses and personal brands.

“Whether building a business or personal brand, social media is a place where many creators get started before launching a website,” he said, according to the PYMNTS report. “As a first in our category, we’re excited to provide our customers with a way to stand out no matter how they are getting started.”

Rival GoDaddy recently rolled out a new eCommerce feature for social media sites like Facebook, PYMNTS reported. The company was an early adopter of the Facebook Business Extension as a partner. Greg Goldfarb, chief of products, said this would help people prosper online.