CVC acquires majority stake in Namecheap for $1.5B

https://webhosting.today/2025/09/12/cvc-acquires-majority-stake-in-namecheap-for-1-5-billion/

50•ajdude•1h ago

Comments

nathanaldensr•46m ago

Another private equity acquisition. Hooray!

kristopolous•44m ago

So looks like I should move my domains, what's the recommendation

jonah-archive•39m ago

I advise people to use porkbun generally. Personally I use and like EasyDNS, though their UI is a little quirky.

DrewADesign•43m ago

Do you think they have an enshttifying strategy before hand? Or do you think they just get in there and McKinsey their way to a worse product on the fly?

tensor•8m ago

It can be either, but in both cases the ultimate goals are the same: increase efficiency. So if they buy multiple domain registrars then they can share infrastructure and staff and become more efficient.

Or, without merging companies they can simply change the goal from growth to efficiency and "make do with less" and then that naturally leads to enshitification.

icyfox•45m ago

Good for Namecheap. They're still my default when I'm searching for new domains, even though I end up registering somewhere else (their bulk search is still best in class imo).

I'm a bit surprised at their revenue numbers considering domain registration is pretty much a commodity at this point. I always assumed non-technical people would first go to a web host/email provider that lets them buy a domain vs. a domain registrar that also supports email and web hosting. Clearly I'd be wrong.

kennywinker•37m ago

Good for namecheap, bad for everyone else.

HellsMaddy•44m ago

Private equity seems to be a form of cancer that slowly sucks the life out of everything it touches, with a single goal: to grow and spread. Can someone more knowledgeable please explain to me why I'm wrong?

freetanga•27m ago

Have you seen “Other peoples money” with Danny de Vito? I felt it explains this cancer quite well, 35 years ago.

rpjt•25m ago

Efficiency?

nine_k•3m ago

The classic playbook includes making a lot of debt, and then leaving the lenders holding the bag when the company files for bankruptcy. It can only be considered efficient if con artistry is efficient, that is, efficient at taking the money from the hands of people who trust other people "too much".

nzeid•21m ago

The reason it's easy to conclude that they're evil is because they are almost never committed to preserving or improving the quality of their investees. They are only committed to making money, and that often comes in the form of price gouging and liquidation.

dymk•42m ago

Should link to original article - https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/cvc-strikes-1-5-billion-d...

https://archive.ph/i9vOk

nzeid•40m ago

Goddamnit, I just moved everything to Namecheap to avoid more outages. Anyone have other recommendations in the event of the likely private equity rot?

ectospheno•29m ago

If all you care about is avoiding outages and price then it is hard to beat cloudflare.

tensor•11m ago

I've been using Gandi for years and recently have been consolidating things there. In the past I've used Google and still have some stuff and Namecheap too.

Gandi is a little more expensive, but are consistently excellent. Especially now with their new UX and org support, it's super easy to manage domains from both corporate and personal accounts with one login.

jsheard•8m ago

Gandi was also bought out by private equity a few years ago, as far as I know their service is still fine but they've been raising their prices without any rhyme or reason. They want $38 to renew a .com now.

tensor•6m ago

Oh yeah? Dammit, I must have missed that news. That sucks. :-(

steventruong•9m ago

I’m happy with Porkbun.

JKCalhoun•8m ago

Looks like easyDNS was recommended.

JKCalhoun•7m ago

Looks like easyDNS and Porkbun are recommended.

(May have to test the waters at each.)

SilverElfin•34m ago

Are there guides on how to move domains from Namecheap to whoever the new recommended provider is?

blahyawnblah•28m ago

Typically you just need to unlock the domain, obtain an authorization code from your current registrar, and then initiate the transfer process with the new registrar.

darinpantley•31m ago

For anyone wondering: "the deal covers both Namecheap and its sister platform, Spaceship."

dismalaf•17m ago

Ugh, all my domains are with Namecheap, since Google stopped dealing with domains and CloudFlare and GoDaddy seem more evil. Also I appreciated Namecheap's support of Ukraine.

Hopefully it's not too predatory and the owner just wanted to cash out some chips; some corps do okay under private equity (Suse for example) but lots get ripped to shreds...

gavinsyancey•17m ago

Shit I have domains there. Anyone have recommendations for a good cheap registrar that supports .io?

donperignon•3m ago

Soon they will change their name to namexpensive… time to move on to other options not managed by vampires

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