Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is closing in on an agreement to acquire a majority stake in domain registrar and hosting provider Namecheap, in a deal that places the company’s value at roughly $1.5 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
The investment would keep founder and chief executive Richard Kirkendall in a significant role, as he plans to retain a substantial ownership position. Sources indicated that terms of the deal have already been finalized, though the timeline for a formal announcement has not yet been determined.
Namecheap, established in Arizona nearly 25 years ago, started primarily as a domain registrar before broadening its portfolio to include web hosting, site security, and digital management services. Its customer base now comprises of design and marketing platforms like Figma and Buffer. The company has not publicly shared financial results, but Kirkendall previously stated that revenue rose 18 percent in 2024 to reach $398 million.
The transaction highlights growing private equity interest in the hosting and domain sector. In recent years, several firms have pursued similar moves: Clearlake Capital and Siris Capital back Newfold Digital, the parent company of Bluehost, while Permira purchased website-building firm Squarespace last year in a $7.2 billion deal.
For CVC, which manages close to €200 billion in assets, the Namecheap deal would expand its foothold in digital infrastructure. The firm already owns Webpros, a software provider whose tools support over 30 million hosting accounts and 80 million domains worldwide. Analysts say combining exposure across both Webpros and Namecheap could give CVC a unique position within a market that continues to consolidate.
GoDaddy which has a market capitalization of more than $20 billion and Europe based SiteGround are among the rival companies that continue to hold solid positions but the Namecheap deal highlights how the domain and hosting services will still be in demand in the long term according to private equity. It has become a strategic investment target for firms as digital infrastructure usage is on the rise, consequently, owning platforms like Namecheap.
