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GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain registrar, has been sold to three private equity firms in a deal valued at $2.25 billion, the company announced late Friday.
As a report predicted a week ago, private equity firms KKR & Co., Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures sealed the deal, in which they agreed to take on GoDaddy’s debt. That report indicated the company would be sold for between $2 billion and $2.5 billion.
Company founder and CEO Bob Parsons predicted further growth of GoDaddy under its new ownership. He said to the Los Angeles Times, “What these guys see is a company with a lot more potential internationally and more potential to make partnerships and acquisitions. They’ll help us finance and they’ll help us recruit talent.â€Â
GoDaddy, known for its sexy Super Bowl ads and controversial CEO with a penchant for elephant killing, has seen significant growth over the past three years, with sales rising by 25% to $947 million from 2009 to 2010. The company projected growth for 2011 to continue that trend, quoting a figure of $1.1 billion for the year.