This is WhatsTheHost's living log of who's buying whom in web hosting. The dated deal log separates completed acquisitions, sale processes, and related industry developments, and the parent-company lookup table shows who actually owns the brand on your invoice. We update this tracker when deals happen, not on a content calendar, because in this industry the name on your bill and the company running your servers are increasingly different things.
I've been keeping tabs on the web hosting space for a long time, and even I get surprised: A2 Hosting got acquired and I nearly missed it, and within months the brand itself was renamed Hosting.com. That's the pattern now. The old roll-up king Endurance International became Newfold Digital back in 2021 and kept absorbing brands; newer platforms like World Host Group are running the same playbook at startup speed, and private equity keeps arriving because hosting subscriptions are annuities: sticky customers, renewal-price power, predictable cash. When a host you use gets bought, the service usually survives fine. The renewal rate is what you watch.
What I've realized is that web hosting is like real estate, storage, or an annuity. Consumers buy it with the best hope of using it to its full capacity, but often let projects and junk sit in it and forget about it. This is truly what happens when consumers and SMBs build on hosting.
With enterprise hosting, it's an entirely different ballgame, scaling on AWS and Google Cloud and the like. This tracker focuses on the hosting brands and related businesses most website owners encounter.
Who owns your host? The lookup table
Last researched and updated: September 21, 2026. Before the deal log, the answer most readers came for. The ownership table below links to company statements and transaction reporting; dates identify the acquisition, listing, or announcement, rather than implying every brand joined its parent at once.
| Brand | Parent / ownership and source | Key date | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost, HostGator, Network Solutions, Web.com | Newfold Digital; backed by Clearlake and Siris | 2021 (Newfold formation) | Newfold now emphasizes Bluehost and Network Solutions; Markmonitor has been sold. |
| Hosting.com (formerly A2), FastComet, Rocket.net | World Host Group / hosting.com | 2025 acquisitions | Rocket.net belongs in the same group; A2 rebrand announced May 7, 2025. |
| HostPapa, ColoCrossing, Hostopia, CloudBlue | Managed.com platform | Platform launched Sept 17, 2026 | Existing brands continue under their own names; this announcement is a platform launch. |
| Hostwinds | HostPapa; within the group now presented as Managed.com | Apr 29, 2026 | Acquisition completed; the announcement does not set a customer migration deadline. |
| Namecheap | CVC-linked acquisition reported and notified | Reported Sept 2025; notified Nov 2025 | Majority transaction reported; closing date not established by the primary evidence reviewed. |
| Squarespace | Permira funds; other shareholders retained stakes | Oct 17, 2024 | Private following the take-private; compare domain, website, and add-on renewal costs. |
| IONOS (formerly 1&1) | Public in Frankfurt; United Internet 63.8% | IPO Feb 2023; stake at June 30, 2026 | Sedo sale process concerns the AdTech business; it is not a sale of IONOS hosting. |
| Cloudways | DigitalOcean | Sept 8, 2022 | Compare current plan and infrastructure charges; ownership does not guarantee unchanged prices. |
| DreamHost | Independent and employee-owned, per the company | Independent since 1997, per company | Independence is an ownership fact, not a guarantee about future renewals. |
| SiteGround | Independent and privately owned | Founded 2004 | Evaluate the renewal price and support separately from ownership. |
| Kinsta | Private; self-funded, per the company | Founded 2013 | Its company history describes bootstrapping; compare the limits of your specific plan. |
| BigScoots | Stone-Goff Partners-backed | Investment announced July 13, 2023 | Still identified as a Stone-Goff portfolio company in its September 9, 2026 update. |
| Markmonitor, Com Laude | Markmonitor Group; PX3 Partners-backed | Seller closed Dec 31, 2025; buyer release Jan 12, 2026 | Markmonitor is no longer part of Newfold; these are corporate domain services. |
| GoDaddy | Public (NYSE: GDDY) | IPO 2015 | Public-company ownership; check your contract and renewal notice for actual price changes. |
Ownership tells you who makes the decisions. It doesn't, by itself, prove that a price increase or support change is coming. Use our renewal markup index alongside your actual renewal notice, and check whether two hosts on your shortlist belong to the same group.
2026 deals and industry updates
Managed.com launches above HostPapa and related brands (Sept 17, 2026)
Status: platform launch. Managed.com announced its launch as the platform for HostPapa, ColoCrossing, Hostopia, CloudBlue, and LogoMaker. The company says it has integrated more than 20 acquired businesses and that the individual brands will keep serving their markets under their own names. This adds a new name to the ownership map without establishing a new sale of HostPapa.
Jamie Opalchuk, founder and CEO of Managed.com, said: “For our customers and partners, nothing changes today: it's the same brands and the same commitment” (September 17 announcement). For customers, the useful follow-up is whether their billing entity, support route, or service terms change later.
Team Internet advances its domains-business sale process (Sept 7, 2026)
Status: sale process; no agreed transaction confirmed in this update. In its September 7 interim results, Team Internet said discussions over its Domains, Identity and Software division were advanced, with multiple parties interested in all or parts of the business. Management still expected a valuation materially above $160 million and any agreed transaction to complete around year-end. Those are expectations, not a signed price or closing date.
CEO Michael Riedl said, “We are optimizing for price and not for timeline.” The quote comes from the September 7 analyst call, as reported by webhosting.today. For registrar and reseller customers, a named buyer and a signed agreement are the next developments to watch.
Bending Spoons completes Airtable acquisition (Sept 4, 2026)
Status: completed; adjacent software deal. Airtable confirmed the closing on September 4, updating the August 4 agreement covered in the previous edition. Axios reported a $1.29 billion cash deal at announcement. Airtable is a database and workflow platform, so this is context for subscription-business consolidation rather than a web hosting acquisition.
In Airtable's closing announcement, Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari described a focus on “investing heavily in Airtable’s product, customer support, and go-to-market capabilities.” (Source). That is management's stated plan; the transaction alone does not establish future customer pricing.
IONOS keeps Sedo classified for sale in its half-year report (Aug 6, 2026)
Status: divestiture process. The H1 2026 financial report confirms that the decision to sell Sedo and its AdTech business was made in September 2025, correcting the previous edition's H1 2026 timing. The report continues to present the business as discontinued and held for sale. A completed sale was not established by the sources reviewed for this update. This is a disposal of a domain-marketing and advertising business, not the sale of IONOS's hosting operation.
Automattic reported as the new WebHosting.com domain owner (July 2, 2026)
Status: reported domain acquisition; commercial plans unconfirmed. Elliot Silver reported at DomainInvesting.com that WebHosting.com had moved from AT&T to Automattic, citing registrant records and an Automattic-branded coming-soon page. The report does not disclose a purchase price. A domain transfer is not evidence that Automattic acquired AT&T's hosting customers or launched a new service. We will update this entry when the company provides transaction or product details.
HostPapa completes acquisition of Hostwinds (Apr 29, 2026)
Status: completed. HostPapa announced its acquisition of Hostwinds, adding shared hosting, cloud VPS, dedicated servers, and reseller services, with facilities in Seattle, Dallas, and Amsterdam. HostPapa said customers would continue receiving service under the brand with support from the broader organization. No price was disclosed in the release. Customers should watch actual migration and renewal notices; the announcement does not support the previous edition's prediction of a migration within a year.
Com Laude announces completed Markmonitor acquisition (Jan 12, 2026)
Status: completed December 31, 2025; buyer announcement January 12, 2026. Newfold dated its closing announcement December 31; Com Laude announced the combined Markmonitor Group on January 12. The buyer described an initial enterprise value of about $450 million for the combined group. That figure is not the disclosed purchase price for Markmonitor alone.
Newfold CEO Sharon Rowlands said: “This sale allows us to simplify our portfolio and strengthen our focus on Bluehost and Network Solutions” (closing announcement). This is a useful reminder that consolidators can sell businesses as well as buy them.
2025 deals
CVC majority investment in Namecheap reported (Sept 12, 2025)
What happened: September 2025 reporting described a CVC majority investment valuing Namecheap at about $1.5 billion including debt. A November 3 competition notification identifies a CVC-linked acquisition vehicle, and CVC's 2025 results presentation lists Namecheap among selected investments. That presentation includes signed but unclosed deals, so it does not establish a closing date. Why it matters: Namecheap is a major registrar and host, but the evidence should not be stretched into a precise ownership-transfer date or a prediction about renewals. Our registrar rankings help compare the customer-facing offer.
Rocket.net joins hosting.com (Aug 2025)
Status: acquired; historical addition to this update. Hosting.com's acquisition history dates Rocket.net joining the group to August 2025. Rocket founder Ben Gabler became hosting.com's chief product officer, and Jess Frick took over as Rocket CEO. This matters when comparing managed WordPress hosts: Rocket.net and hosting.com belong to the same group even when their products and brands remain distinct.
Limestone Networks buys four hosting brands (Aug 20, 2025)
What happened: Dallas-based Limestone Networks, historically bare-metal and colocation, acquired BreezeTech Hosting, Silver Hosting, Snowside Hosting, and NextArray in one move, per the announcement. Why it matters: infrastructure providers are buying their way up-stack into shared and VPS hosting because retail hosting carries higher margins per server than wholesale metal. Expect bundles.
itesys AG acquires Hosting Solutions GmbH (July 10, 2025)
What happened: Swiss SAP-hosting specialist itesys bought Germany's Hosting Solutions GmbH, deepening DACH coverage in managed SAP and ISO 27001 data-center hosting, per its announcement. Why it matters: vertical hosting (one industry, deep compliance) consolidates on its own track, and enterprise workloads follow certifications, not coupons.
World Host Group acquires FastComet (Apr 24, 2025)
What happened: WHG added FastComet, a developer-favorite brand with a support reputation, per the announcement. WHG's own corporate page now counts 30+ acquisitions in roughly three years. Why it matters: that pace makes WHG the one to watch in the mid-market. Platform unification across 30+ brands is where support quality and pricing both get decided.
World Host Group acquires A2 Hosting (Jan 29, 2025)
What happened: WHG bought A2 Hosting, the U.S. performance host, per the announcement coverage, and on May 7, 2025, announced the A2 rebrand in favor of Hosting.com. Why it matters: this is a clear acquisition-to-rebrand example. A promotional price and a later renewal price do not, by themselves, prove that the acquisition caused a price increase. Our Hosting.com review covers what changed for customers, and our A2 vs SiteGround comparison got rewritten around the new reality.
2024 deals
group.one acquires C4 Webhosting (Dec 16, 2024)
What happened: group.one, parent of one.com and Webglobe, bought Czech provider C4 Webhosting to strengthen Central and Eastern Europe coverage, per its newsroom. Why it matters: the European roll-up model keeps local brand names while standardizing the platform underneath, so customers often don't learn who owns them until pricing changes arrive.
Permira takes Squarespace private (closed Oct 17, 2024)
What happened: Permira completed its all-cash take-private of Squarespace at a value around $7.2B, per the closing release. Why it matters: Squarespace is a site builder first, but it bundles hosting and domains, and this deal proved private capital will pay premium multiples for web-presence subscriptions. Every hosting founder's exit math changed that day.
Freshstream takes majority stake in Worldstream (May 31, 2024)
What happened: UK/Benelux PE firm Freshstream took majority control of Dutch infrastructure host Worldstream, per the company. Why it matters: growth-equity money in IaaS means data-center expansion, and infrastructure capacity built now is what the AI-era hosting demand lands on later.
team.blue acquires Loopia Group (May 23, 2024)
What happened: Hg-backed team.blue added Loopia Group's Nordic and CEE customer base, pushing its portfolio past 3 million customers, per the announcement. Why it matters: the pan-European “portfolio of local champions” strategy at full speed; team.blue, group.one, and WHG are running the same race on different continents.
group.one acquires Webglobe (May 21, 2024)
What happened: group.one signed for Webglobe across Slovakia, Czechia, and Serbia, cementing its CEE hub, per its newsroom. Why it matters: see C4 above; this was the hub that deal plugged into.
Summit Hosting acquires Deft (Feb 2024)
What happened: U.S. application-hosting provider Summit acquired Deft's managed data-center and cloud business, per Business Wire. Why it matters: mid-market hosts are broadening into colocation and hybrid because compliance-heavy customers pay for one accountable vendor.
What this consolidation means for you
If your host gets acquired: an ownership announcement is your cue to review the account. A migration, changed support process, or higher bill needs its own evidence. Check your current rate the week you hear the news, screenshot your plan terms, and know your alternative before the next invoice. Our hosting comparison and recommendation quiz can help you compare alternatives; confirm the current terms with the provider before moving.
If you're choosing a host: ownership belongs in the decision next to price and support. The lookup table above plus the renewal markup index on our homepage together answer the real question: not just what does it cost, but who decides what it costs next year.
If your host's brand just disappeared: we convert reviews of renamed and dying brands into status pages that explain what happened and where to go; the 1&1-to-IONOS page shows the format.
Tracker FAQ
Why do web hosting companies get acquired so often?
Because hosting subscriptions behave like annuities: customers rarely move, revenue recurs, and the owner controls renewal pricing. Those traits attract both strategic buyers and private equity. This tracker includes the reported CVC-Namecheap transaction and Permira's completed Squarespace take-private, alongside acquisitions of smaller hosting brands.
What happens to my website when my hosting company is acquired?
An acquisition does not automatically move your website. Read the provider's notices for changes to infrastructure, support, terms, or billing. Keep an independent backup, save your plan details, and check the renewal rate when the deal is announced. There is no universal migration timetable or automatic price increase established by the transactions listed here.
Which groups own multiple web hosting brands?
Newfold Digital, World Host Group / hosting.com, Managed.com, team.blue, and group.one all bring multiple brands together. Hosting.com reports more than 30 acquisitions over roughly three years; Managed.com says its platform has integrated more than 20 businesses. Those are company-reported acquisition counts, not comparable rankings of currently active brands.
Which hosts are still independent?
As checked on September 21, 2026, DreamHost describes itself as employee-owned and independent since 1997, SiteGround says it remains privately and independently owned, and Kinsta describes itself as self-funded. Their company statements are linked in the table. Independence does not guarantee low renewal prices, and a brand keeping its name does not establish independence: Rocket.net and BigScoots are useful examples.
What we include
Selected hosting, domain, and web-presence transactions involving the U.S. or Europe, plus clearly labelled adjacent software and platform developments. Entries distinguish closing dates from announcement dates and sale processes from completed deals. This is a curated tracker, not a census of every acquisition. Company releases establish what management announced; quotes describe the speaker's position, not independently verified customer outcomes. Sources were reviewed through September 21, 2026. Spot a deal we missed or an error? Leave a comment with the announcement link and date.
Changelog
- Sept 21, 2026: Updated title, date, and ownership table; added Managed.com, Team Internet, Markmonitor, and Rocket.net coverage; confirmed Airtable closing; added sourced executive quotes; corrected A2 rebrand timing, DreamHost year, IONOS sale-process timing, and Namecheap status; removed unsupported migration and pricing forecasts.
- Aug 24, 2026: Full refresh: added 2026 deals (Bending Spoons-Airtable, Automattic-WebHosting.com reported, HostPapa-Hostwinds, IONOS AdTech divestiture), added the parent-company lookup table and tracker FAQ, corrected the Endurance-to-Newfold reference, rewrote all deal analyses.
- Sept 2025: Added CVC-Namecheap; updated commentary on PE trends.
- Aug 2025: Added Limestone Networks 4-brand acquisitions.
- July 2025: Added itesys-Hosting Solutions.
- Sept 22, 2025: Original tracker published.
