Earlier today we issued a Press Release about some very exciting news around cPanel. Below we answer some of the most common questions so far.
Q: What was announced?
A: On August 20th, 2018, cPanel signed an agreement to be acquired by a group led by Oakley Capital (Oakley). While Nick sold his interest in cPanel, he will continue to be an owner of the company that owns cPanel. cPanel will keep its business customer and support focus.
Q: When will this transaction take place?
A: Today we announced the signing of an agreement to acquire cPanel. After signing, there are a number of steps that need to take place before the transaction is final. These steps include a governmental review. While the companies will seek a speedy governmental review, they cannot estimate a closing date.
Q: What management changes are anticipated?
A: Nick will remain the CEO of cPanel following the transaction, and cPanel will remain headquartered in Houston, Texas USA.
Q: Why did Nick sell his interest?
A: Both Oakley and Nick have the same vision: a customer-focused business that puts support first. This transaction will enable significant investment in new product and feature innovation and will support growth in headcount in Houston, Texas where cPanel will continue to be headquartered.
The transaction also gives cPanel and its employees additional visibility, experience, and resources associated with a larger company. The company will have additional access to thought leaders in the Internet infrastructure industry.
When Nick started cPanel, his vision was to provide small companies with a way to compete with larger companies. This vision hasn’t changed, indeed, there is more need than ever to provide this type of platform for small to medium sized hosting businesses to compete in a market that is more complicated than ever. This transaction gives cPanel the ability to provide more of those resources to its customers than it has in the past.
Q: Why choose Oakley?
A: The companies in which Oakley has invested continue to maintain positive employee sentiment and have maintained or improved their Glassdoor® reviews post-investment. This was an important consideration for Nick when making his decision.
Q: What are the benefits to customers?
A: Customers will benefit from the significant investment in new product and feature innovation. The cPanel platform will grow to provide an improved user experience.
Q: How will this affect customers?
A: There will be no immediate customer impact. cPanel will continue to run as an independent business.
Q: Does this mean my prices will increase?
A: While we regularly evaluate our licensing prices, our fees did not change as part of this transaction. If you have specific questions, please contact your account manager or our customer support team.
Q: Will cPanel keep its name?
A: Yes. We fully anticipate that cPanel will keep its name, and be managed separately until a time, if any, when integration with other Oakley group companies is in the best interests of the companies and minimizes any impact to customers and employees.
Q: How will this impact cPanel’s release schedule?
A: We do not anticipate any changes to cPanel’s release schedule as a result of this transaction.
Q: Are additional acquisitions anticipated?
A: The companies will continue to evaluate acquisitions as opportunities present themselves.
Q: I have a question that was not answered by this FAQ?
A: For additional inquiries, please email investmentquestions@cpanel.net
