Squarespace sells restaurant reservation system Tock to American Express for $400M

Website building platform Squarespace is selling Tock, its restaurant reservation service, to American Express in a deal worth $400 million — the exact figure that Squarespace paid for the service three years ago.

The news comes shortly after news emerged that private equity giant Permira was taking Squarespace private in a deal worth $6.9 billion — a deal that is expected to close in Q4 2024.

Founded in 2014, Tock targets the hospitality industry with reservation and event management tools, with a particular focus on restaurants looking to integrate table management and booking services, or sell tickets for special events such as wine tastings.

Squarespace acquired Tock in 2021 for $400 million, shortly before going public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The move was somewhat synergistic to its main website building offering, insofar as Square could offer restaurant customers a way not only to develop their online visibility, but directly monetize it.

That Squarespace is divesting Tock before its own acquisition is concluded suggests that it sees Tock as surplus to requirements regardless of the outcome, and an extra $400 million in the bank will enable it to get back to its roots as a website builder for SMBs, while investing in other complementary tools such as online payments for ecommerce firms.

TechCrunch has reached out both to Permira and Squarespace to get further insights on the rationale behind this sale, and will update when we hear back.