Gunderson Dettmer Advises Zola on Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by The Knot Worldwide

Gunderson Dettmer represented Zola, the all-in-one wedding platform, in its definitive agreement to be acquired by The Knot Worldwide, a leading global wedding technology platform and marketplace. 

Zola and The Knot plan to build on their complementary strengths in planning, local vendor discovery, personalization, registry, and e-commerce. The goal is to create more connected experiences for couples and new opportunities for wedding professionals to reach customers and grow. Zola and The Knot will continue as separate consumer brands. 

“Our vision from day one has been to create an all-in-one wedding planning platform with modern, flexible products that support couples through every step of their journey,” said Zola Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer Shan-Lyn Ma, in the announcement of the transaction. “Joining The Knot Worldwide will give us the opportunity to further build on that joyful, meaningful, and fun experience, while also benefiting from the company’s reach and industry expertise.”

The Gunderson team is being led by Corporate partner Melissa Marks and senior corporate associate Amira Abulafi, M&A partner Andrew Luh and senior M&A associate Alex Walsh, and includes Corporate/M&A Associates Christian Hodges and Matthew Porcelli, with support from Strategic Transactions & Licensing partner Katie Gardner and associates Emily Miller and Ambreena Ladhani; Data Privacy counsel James Gately; Tax partner Jace Clegg and associate Morgan Otway; Executive Compensation partner Emily Cabrera and associate Erik Ward, Antitrust partner Greg Kinzelman, and Labor counsel Jeff Salomon.