Goldman-Backed Startup Optimizely to Be Acquired by Episerver

Privately held Episerver Inc. said it would acquire Optimizely Inc., a technology startup backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and actor Ashton Kutcher.

Optimizely, which helps companies manage and test different versions of websites, raised funding last June at a $600 million valuation, according to PitchBook.

No financial terms of the deal were disclosed in a statement provided to Bloomberg News.

It has raised about $146 million in venture capital from Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, and Index Ventures, a blog post by one its founders showed.

Optimizely said it had cut 40 people, or about 10% of its employees in July.

Insight Venture Partners bought Episerver for $1.16 billion in 2018, according to a statement at the time.

Episerver Chief Executive Officer Alex Atzberger said the Optimizely deal was the “the most significant transformation in our company’s history – one that will set a new industry standard for digital experience platforms.”

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs advised Optimizely.

Source: Bloomberg