Permira's Brian Ruder talks AI, Squarespace acquisition, and the value of co-leadership | TechCrunch
It has been a busy year in the private equity realm, with countless big-money acquisitions unfolding. The take-private space specifically has seen some sizable transactions, with private equity firms spearheading more than a dozen billion-dollar deals for public tech companies. London-headquartered Permira was a key protagonist, joining Blackstone to acquire European online classifieds group Adevinta for $13 billion, and in October, taking the popular website building platform Squarespace private in a deal eventually worth $7.2 billion. It's not just billion-dollar acquisitions that interest Permira, though. In addition to closing a fresh '16.7 billion buyout fund last year, the company has separate funds that take minority and majority stakes in earlier-stage, high-growth companies. Its first such investment was in Sweden's Klarna back in 2017, a fintech giant that's only now preparing to IPO eight years later. 'We're still invested in Klarna,' Permira's new co-managing partner and...
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