# Who owns your website?

Some of the best-known website builders and web hosts are owned by private
equity firms. Here's who owns what, checked October 27, 2026, with a source
for every deal.

## Owned by private equity

- **Squarespace** (Squarespace, Acuity Scheduling, Squarespace Domains):
  Permira, since October 2024.
- **Newfold Digital** (Bluehost, HostGator, Network Solutions, Web.com,
  Register.com): Clearlake Capital and Siris Capital, since 2021.
- **WebPros** (cPanel, Plesk, WHMCS, Sitejet, SolusVM): CVC Capital
  Partners, with Oakley Capital, since 2019.
- **WP Engine** (WP Engine, Flywheel, Local): Silver Lake, since 2018.
- **Liquid Web** (Liquid Web, Nexcess): One Equity Partners, since 2023.
- **Constant Contact**: Clearlake Capital, since 2021.

## Why it matters who owns your host

A private equity firm usually buys a company with a mix of its own money
and debt, then plans to sell it within a few years for more than it paid.
That doesn't make the product worse on its own. It does mean prices, plans,
and support are set with that sale in mind. In 2019, the year after it was
bought, cPanel moved from one price per server to a price per account, and
it has raised prices most years since. In December 2025, Newfold raised
$100 million from its owners and pushed some of its debt out to 2029.

## How to check who owns yours

1. Scroll to the footer or open the terms page. The legal name of the
   company you pay is listed there.
2. Search that name with the word "acquired" to see who bought it and when.
3. Look up the buyer. A private equity firm's own site lists the companies
   it owns, under "portfolio".

## Not owned by private equity

- Public companies: Wix, GoDaddy, Shopify, IONOS, Commerce.com
  (BigCommerce), Block (Square Online, Weebly), Lightspeed (Ecwid), Google
  (Google Sites).
- Venture-backed: Webflow, Framer, Durable, Amboras, Automattic
  (WordPress.com, WooCommerce).
- Founder-controlled: Odoo, Zoho, Carrd, PageHub.

## Moving your site

PageHub is independent and run by its founder. You can import your current
site from WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, or a folder of HTML, keep your
domain, and export your files whenever you like.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Squarespace owned by private equity?
Yes. Permira, a private equity firm, took Squarespace private in October
2024 for about $7.2 billion. Founder Anthony Casalena kept a large stake
and stayed on as CEO.

### Who owns Bluehost and HostGator?
Newfold Digital, which also runs Network Solutions, Web.com, and
Register.com. Newfold is owned by the private equity firms Clearlake
Capital and Siris Capital. It was formed in 2021 when Clearlake bought
Endurance International Group and merged it with Web.com.

### Who owns cPanel?
WebPros, which also owns Plesk, WHMCS, and Sitejet. CVC Capital Partners
has owned most of WebPros since 2019, with Oakley Capital as a minority
owner. In 2019 cPanel moved from one price per server to a price per
account.

### Is Wix owned by private equity?
No. Wix is a public company listed on Nasdaq. GoDaddy and Shopify are
public too. GoDaddy was owned by KKR, Silver Lake, and TCV from 2011 until
it went public in 2015.

### Who owns PageHub?
PageHub is independent and run by its founder, Will Bowman.