Dive Brief:

• E-commerce platform Squarespace has acquired Tock, which offers online reservations, table management, takeout and events, for over $400 million through a mix of stocks and cash, according to a press release. 
• The acquisition will help the website building and e-commerce platform to expand its hospitality offerings to help accelerate sales, provide marketing integrations and connect directly with customers.
• This deal comes about a year after Tock pivoted to offer Tock To Go, allowing restaurants to provide takeout and delivery, for a flat monthly fee of $199 plus 2% on orders or 3% on orders without a subscription. That offering allowed Tock to more than double its customer base to 7,100 restaurants, according to Fast Company.

Dive Insight:

Pre-pandemic Tock, which was created by Alinea Group co-owner and co-founder Nick Kokonas in 2014, had found a niche with high-end restaurants selling $2 million in pre-paid tickets for meals at coveted locations like French Laundry. But when this avenue all but dried up after indoor dining and stay-at-home orders were in place a year ago, the company pivoted to offering its takeout platform. 

With a pricing structure less than the standard 30% commissions often taken by third-party platforms, Tock offered an alternative and many restaurants signed up, including dive bars and local restaurants. Last year, the company added 1,000 new restaurants in just April, and by May 2020, serviced 1 million to-go meals to date, according to a press release. About two months after it added Tock To Go, the company raised $10 million in financing, led by Starbucks-backed Valor Siren Ventures. Since it was founded, Tock has processed over $1 billion in prepaid experiences and millions of standard reservations in 200 cities around the globe. 

Under Squarespace's ownership, Tock will have even stronger financial backing. In mid-March, Squarespace raised $300 million in a funding round that brought the company up to a $10 billion valuation just two months after it filed to go public. It could also expand Tock's reach with Squarespace having customers in over 180 countries.

"Ecommerce within the restaurant and hospitality industries is a large and growing market opportunity," Anthony Casalena, Squarespace founder and CEO, said in the press release. "We believe that together we will continue building on their success, bringing Tock's capabilities to our all-in-one product suite in service of our customers in the hospitality industry and beyond."