Banks $250 million from PE that bought GoDaddy — WP Engine
WordPress hosting firm takes a big investment from a firm that knows the hosting space.
There was quite a bit of buzz here in Austin yesterday following WordPress hosting service WP Engine disclosed a $250 million investment from Silver Lake Partners.
That’s a big number by Austin standards, and might be the biggest single raise by a local tech firm since HomeAway banked that much in 2008.
Local press pointed out that Silver Lake is the firm that helped Austin-based Dell go private. But there’s also a connection to the hosting/domains business. Silver Lake was one of three private equity groups that bought/invested in GoDaddy in 2011.
Silver Lake definitely understands the hosting space and its business mechanics. The PE firm’s involvement means that WP Engine could be on the same course as GoDaddy when it comes to going public.
I remember when WP Engine was just a few person startup in Austin, so it’s nice to see it grow. It now employs 500 people with most of them in Austin. The firm has 75,000 clients and $100 million in annual revenue.
Lisa Box, formerly with Oversee.net and Endurance International Group, is right now Vice President Strategic Alliances and Business Development at WP Engine.
