Wedding planning giant The Knot Worldwide has acquired high rival Zola in a deal announced Wednesday – even as the company faces scrutiny on Capitol Hill over its alleged mistreatment of mom-and-pop business house owners.
Zola will operate as a standalone business for the time being under The Knot Worldwide’s umbrella of manufacturers, which already consists of The Knot, WeddingWire, WeddingProfessional, Hitched and several others, the firms said in a press release. The deal’s financial phrases were not disclosed.
The Knot and Zola each offer related providers to {couples}, including marriage ceremony registries and personal web sites as nicely as connecting to distributors like florists, DJs and dressmakers.
Raina Moskowitz attends The Knot Worldwide thirtieth Anniversary Gala in New York City, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. Getty Images for The Knot Worldwide
Zola co-CEO Shan-Lyn Ma sought to reassure distributors about the deal in a memo obtained by The Post, asserting that the transaction will help “will unlock greater visibility and new opportunities” for small companies reliant on the marriage ceremony websites to attain clients.
“We know an announcement like this naturally brings questions about what this means for your business, and how you work with us,” Ma wrote. “We want to reassure you: maintaining continuity and stability for your business is our highest priority.”
Ma and fellow co-CEO Rachel Jarrett will “continue to lead Zola” and will ultimately be part of The Knot Worldwide’s govt management workforce once the deal closes, according to the memo. Zola pledged to present “clear advance notice” to small business house owners “long before introducing any new cross-platform opportunities or updates.”
The deal will be subject to “customary closing conditions, including any required regulatory clearances,” the firms said. It’s unclear if the FTC or Justice Department’s antitrust unit will scrutinize the transaction.
A Knot Worldwide spokesperson declined remark. Zola did not immediately reply.
The Knot is led by CEO Raina Moskowitz, a former Etsy govt who has centered on overhauling the company’s platform with AI-powered planning instruments and rebuilding its relationship with disgruntled distributors.
“Welcoming Zola to our portfolio is an exciting opportunity to help more wedding professionals grow their businesses and create more personalized, connected experiences for couples, from their first moment of inspiration through ‘I do,’” Moskowitz said in a assertion.
Zola Co-Founder and CEO Shan-Lyn Ma speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Getty Images for TechCrunch
In August, Bloomberg reported that The Knot Worldwide’s credit score had been cut into junk territory by Moodys Ratings, which labeled the company as a “very high” credit risk.
The Knot is owned by investment firm Permira and has operated as a personal company since 2018. Meanwhile, Zola raised $100 million in 2018 at a valuation of roughly $600 million, with traders that included NBCUniversal and Goldman Sachs Investment Partners.
The Knot Worldwide has not too long ago confronted heat from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who cited The Post’s unique reporting on alleged wrongdoing at The Knot while “strongly” urging the FTC to examine the firm last October.
At the time, Grassley said his workplace had acquired practically 200 separate complaints from marriage ceremony distributors who accused The Knot of offering faux or spam buyer leads, locking them into advert offers that were troublesome to cancel or failed to present the promised advantages.
The Knot Worldwide is buying Zola. The Knot Worldwide
On Feb. 18 of this 12 months, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson despatched a letter to Grassley warning that the alleged conduct, if confirmed true, “can potentially violate laws the FTC enforces, including Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive or unfair business practices.”
Ferguson said that while he was unable to “disclose the existence or details of any non-public investigations, I can continue to assure you that protecting small businesses from deceptive practices remains a priority for the Commission.”
The Knot Worldwide has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, with a spokesperson telling The Post in response to Grassley’s October 2025 letter that the company “does not engage in fraudulent or deceptive business practices.”
As The Post reported in July 2024, The Knot Worldwide also triggered some alarms with its previous acquisition of marriage ceremony startup Simply Eloped – with some distributors stating they were involved that the company was seizing too much control over the industry.
Representatives for Grassley and the FTC declined remark. The DOJ did not immediately return a request for remark.
Reuters was first to report on the deal.
