GoDaddy Gains as Reported Suitor Gen Digital Slides
Gen Digital shares fell 12% after the Financial Times reported a preliminary takeover approach for GoDaddy, while GoDaddy rose about 5%. Gen Digital’s market value of about $13.8 billion is only slightly larger than GoDaddy’s roughly $12.8 billion, and no terms were disclosed. The market reaction suggests doubts about the buyer’s ability to fund a near-peer deal.
Gen Digital, whose brands include Norton, Avast, LifeLock and MoneyLion, reportedly made an early takeover approach to GoDaddy. Neither side commented, and no terms, structure or timeline emerged. Gen’s shares dropped 12.05% to $23.07, while GoDaddy gained 4.64% to $100.85.
Gen’s roughly $13.8 billion value only modestly exceeds GoDaddy’s $12.8 billion. Gen recently reported net leverage of 2.95 times after cutting debt by $45 million, below its three-times target. GoDaddy guides about $1.8 billion in free cash flow and manages around one-fifth of registered domains.
If a deal eventually emerges, small businesses and consumers relying on GoDaddy’s domains and Gen Digital’s security brands could face changes in pricing, bundling, or service priorities. Employees at both firms may see restructuring, while investors could reassess risk if financing strains either balance sheet. Because talks are early and undisclosed, any societal effect remains uncertain; the main near-term impact may simply be sharper market scrutiny of near-peer mergers and their funding.