If your dot com or other domain is hosted by Google, they’re all being sold to Squarespace. That includes 10 million domains, such as those purchased while signing up for Google Workspace subscriptions.
Google Domains has been a quick and easy place to buy a dot com (or dot net, or dot studio, even) for your cottage bakery — but the company is now giving up on the registrar business and selling the assets to Squarespace. The deal includes handing off 10 million domains owned by Google customers to the popular website builder.
In a press statement, Google’s VP and GM of merchant shopping, Matt Madrigal, says the sale is an effort to “sharpen our focus” and that the company plans on “supporting a smooth transition” for its customers being handed off to Squarespace. Madrigal then assures customers that Squarespace, which already has its own domain management plus web building tools, would be the perfect home for customers’ websites. Google Domains first became available as a beta in 2014 and finally came out of beta just last year.
The “definitive agreement” between Google and Squarespace includes assurances that customers will get the same renewal prices available to them for the next 12 months. Plus, Squarespace agrees to provide “incentives” for customers to build their website with the company’s platform.
The deal between Google and Squarespace is slated to close in the third quarter of 2023, pending regulatory hurdles and being able to meet closing conditions. Whether customers will need to take any actions is not yet known, but the actual transfer won’t be fully realized until “2024 and beyond.” According to Bloomberg, the deal is worth $180 million.
-- Sometimes you have to look reality in the face and say 'No!' -Ben (Reaper)
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