Optimizely Purchased by Episerver

Episerver is again on a shopping trip, looking this time at Optimizely. The somewhat famous A/B testing provider for the modern web. Epi is looking to become more and more an enterprise suite, offering a wide range of tools.
Adding Optimizely makes sense from a private equity point of few. Identifying business opportunities to increase the offerings.

Especially when Insight Partners is owning Episerver and having a stake in Optimizely.

This also comes after Optimizely has been laying off 15% of the workforce, citing COVID-19 related effects. This comes as a surprise, given the increasing demand for digital products right now. It seems more likely that in preparation for the deal, the margin has been optimized.

The value is estimated to be less than $600 million, which was the valuation last year in June. Given that Optimizely has fetched a total of $200 million in funding.

Competition

The other side of the story might be the raise of Google Optimize. At the same time, Google is offering there A/B testing solution for free or a premium version. Optimizely has seen a sharp drop in interest over the last years.

While A/B testing was a big topic in the past, many software solutions are now integrating it. Many personalization solutions also have A/B testing as core functionality.
Making the offering less and less attractive, the price tag is relatively high for it, making room for alternatives aiming for simple solutions based on customer's needs.

Outlook

It looks like Episerver becomes the one player picking up declining businesses. From acquisitions of Optivo (german-based E-Mail marketing) to Optimizely, to name two. This makes it potentially great as a private equity operation, but the overall offering seems questionable.
There is also the constant discussion around the bundling movement. Having everything connected has benefits for users and the firm itself. But has also a lot of negative points, which pushes many customers away.

Guess we will have to see how many Emarsys, Googles, and Episervers the world needs.